Nigel Farage returns as Clacton MP after resignation

By AtheneNet | 14 August 2026

Nigel Farage has been re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Clacton, winning the by-election held on Thursday, 13 August 2026.

The Reform UK candidate received 22,239 votes, according to results published by UK Parliament News on 14 August. His return follows his resignation in July, which created the parliamentary vacancy and triggered the contest.

Farage finishes 12,784 votes ahead

Count Binface, standing for the Count Binface Party, placed second with 9,455 votes. Farage therefore finished 12,784 votes ahead of his nearest opponent and received more votes than all 33 other candidates combined.

Rejoin EU candidate John Stevens came third with 492 votes. Independent Tony Francis received 432, independent Pamela Walford polled 371 and Reclaim candidate Laurence Fox finished with 347.

William Clouston of the Social Democratic Party received 256 votes, while independent Nick Pelas secured 202. James Ransley of the Consensus Party polled 192, and independent Stephen Ingram received 159.

Those figures show a substantial separation between the first two candidates and the remainder of the field. Farage and Count Binface together accounted for 31,694 of the 35,111 votes listed across all candidates. The other 32 candidates received a combined 3,417 votes.

AtheneNet’s sum of all 34 published candidate totals is 35,111. That is the number of votes recorded for candidates, not a confirmed constituency turnout: the parliamentary notice did not provide the electorate size or a turnout percentage.

A by-election caused by Farage’s resignation

The Clacton by-election was required after Farage resigned as the constituency’s MP in July 2026. He subsequently stood again for Reform UK and regained the same parliamentary seat at the resulting poll the following month.

The sequence distinguishes the contest from a by-election caused by a death, disqualification or the departure of an MP who did not seek an immediate return. The result restores Farage as Clacton’s parliamentary representative after the vacancy created by his own resignation.

UK Parliament’s announcement identifies the resignation as the reason the election was called but gives no further explanation for that decision. It also reports the result without including statements from Farage, the other candidates or their parties.

A 34-candidate contest in Clacton

The ballot combined candidates from established and smaller political parties with a large number of independents. Alongside Reform UK, Rejoin EU and Reclaim, the listed affiliations included the Social Democratic Party, British Democratic Party, Freedom Alliance, Forward Party, UK Voice and the Monster Raving Loony Party.

The smallest recorded totals were nine votes for independent Gerry Smith, eight for independent Woke Trump Carrzee and seven for independent Glenn Cummings.

UK Parliament News published all 34 candidate totals on 14 August 2026. Its notice remains the source for the declared result and the reason for the by-election, while the absence of an electorate figure means a verified turnout rate cannot be calculated from the published information.

Source: UK Parliament News