LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration party Reform UK, had hoped a special election Thursday for his Parliament seat would help quell awkward questions about his finances.
But with the major parties refusing to field candidates in the election, voters in a small seaside resort outside London are choosing between a man with eyes on the prime minister's office and a random assortment of candidates, led by a man wearing a trash can on his head.
Farage triggered the vote last month when he quit his seat in the hope that it would put to bed questions about his finances and result in a resounding victory over his main political rivals from the Labour and Conservative parties. He said he would let voters judge him in a "people versus the establishment" contest.
But his political foes described the move as a stunt and opted not to play ball. Farage is instead facing opponents like Count Binface, a political satirist posing as a comic space alien with a keen interest in earthly matters, including the positioning of a hand dryer in the men's toilet in a pub in west London.
While Farage is widely expected to win the race, questions about the millions of pounds in donations that he had received will persist.
Record number of candidates standing in Clacton
The election is a novelty with a record 34 candidates, including Howling Laud Hope of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and Marcus White from the Everyone is God Party. They have pounded the streets of Clacton over the past few weeks as they seek to win the support of around 80,000 voters.
Given the numbers standing, Clacton residents will be presented with a ballot paper around 3 feet long (around 1 meter). That's not going to be easy to navigate.
Turnout is widely expected to be low as it often is in special elections. In the July 2024 general election, Farage faced eight rivals and garnered 21,225 votes, or 46.2% of the total. Turnout was 58.7%.
This election is taking place during the summer holidays when thousands of voters will be far away from Clacton. It's also taking place during another U.K. heatwave, which could prompt many to opt against making the trip to the polling station.
Election isn't the one Farage was planning
Farage, who in 2024 was elected to Parliament at his eighth attempt in the strongly Brexit-backing town, has for months been facing what he considers to be unfair scrutiny of his finances.
Parliament's standards watchdog is investigating an undeclared donation of 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) to Farage in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he didn't need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and came before he was elected.
However, newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) received in the previous year if they are related to political activities.
When he stood down on July 7, he described the scrutiny as an "establishment hit job" and a media-driven "witch-hunt."
His decision to stand down put a pause to the parliamentary investigation, but if he wins on Thursday, as most pollsters expect, it is set to start again.
If he's found to have breached Parliament's rules, then he could face a recall petition in Clacton, which may lead to another special election later this year, costing the British taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds more. The difference is that in that one, the other parties would choose to stand.
Farage's decision came weeks after Andy Burnham returned to Parliament in a special election in the Makerfield constituency near Manchester. That campaign shone a positive spotlight on Burnham, triggering a chain of events that saw him become Britain's prime minister a few weeks later following the resignation of Keir Starmer.
Any hope that Farage had that the Clacton campaign would be similarly positive for him was dashed when the other political parties failed to play ball and he was left standing against the likes of Count Binface.
Binface leads the alternatives
Count Binface leaves after being interviewed Wednesday at a studio in London ahead of the Clacton by-election. Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo
Under Binface's black cape, trash can and ample body armor that looks straight out of a low-budget sci-fi film, is a middle-aged comedian named Jon Harvey trying to keep his cool during a sweaty summer.
He has been a regular candidate in high-profile elections before, having previously stood against then prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
He says his repeated candidacies are aimed at promoting the beauties of Britain's centuries-old democracy where even the most high-profile politicians are above no one — including someone from his fictional native planet of Sigma IX.
Joke candidates are a long-standing and cherished tradition in British elections so long as they meet the rules and pay the deposit of 500 pounds ($675) required of all those standing. They only get it back if they muster 5% of the votes cast. In his most recent run, against Burnham in Makerfield, the 5,000-year-old Binface got 95 votes, or 0.2% of the total.
There is an expectation that he will do a lot better in Clacton. Many of the voters of the other political parties have been lending him their support, partly in the hope of embarrassing Farage.
Given the numbers standing, the result is not expected until breakfast time Friday.