Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election, which was boycotted by major Westminster parties
The Reform UK leader got 22,239 votes while Count Binface came second with 9,455 votes - see the results in full
The contest was triggered when Farage resigned as an MP last month, triggering a by-election he said he would stand in
Farage made the announcement while under investigation for a £5m gift he didn't declare - this victory won't stop questions about his finances, writes our political correspondent Joe Pike
Farage didn't attend the result declaration in person, with Reform saying police advised against it - the BBC understands that is not the case
"I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," Farage told supporters before the result was confirmed
Lee Anderson's speaking to BBC Breakfast.
He says Nigel Farage is a "little bit busy" and "still celebrating" after the Reform UK leader decided against appearing at the declaration in person.
We'll bring you more from Anderson's interview in our next post.
Count Binface - whose real name is Jonathan David Harvey - received 9,455 votes, and he says he's "gratified" that he was able to hear the verdict of "Clactonites" in this morning's result.
"In Makerfield eight weeks ago I got 95 votes," he continues. "So against Nigel Farage compared to Andy Burnham, I am 1,000 times more popular."
"Does that have anything to do with why he isn't here tonight?" he asks.
As a reminder, Farage did not attend the vote count at Clacton Leisure Centre.
Our political correspondent Harry Farley writes that there has been some confusion over why Farage did not attend.
Image source, PA MediaWe've just brought you the full results - here's how it looked as the candidates lined up in Clacton to hear the results.
Nigel Farage was declared the winner, but he did not attend the count in person.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
The official declaration of Nigel Farage's victory was met with mostly silence at Clacton leisure centre.
It's unusual for the winning candidate not to receive cheers and applause from within the room, but as we've been reporting Farage, and most Reform UK party members, have not attended the declaration.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has received 22,239 votes in the Clacton by-election that he triggered by stepping down as an MP.
This is enough votes for him to win the election. As a reminder, turnout was 44.37%.
Count Binface has received a career-best 9,455 votes in the Clacton by-election.
The declaration is ongoing, we'll bring you more shortly.
Harry Farley
Reporting from Clacton
Reform UK has cancelled a planned speech from Nigel Farage in Clacton this morning.
The party did not give a reason.
Farage had been due to give what the party billed as a “major speech” at 10:30 BST.
Image source, ReutersFarage in Clacton on Thursday
Harry Farley
Reporting from Clacton
There is slight confusion over the reasons coming from Reform UK to explain why Nigel Farage is not attending the count.
In his speech, he told supporters at a party down the road: “I'm sad to say that after 33 years of being a candidate in active politics, I've been advised tonight by Essex Police that there is an organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result.”
He added: "I'm damned if I'm going to stand on a stage having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I've tried to fight for and you've tried to fight for and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies.”
But in a statement after Farage’s speech, a Reform UK spokesperson said it was more than humiliation.
“Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count tonight due to a credible threat against him,” the spokesperson said.
But we understand that Essex Police has not advised any candidate to stay away from the count.
In a statement the force said: "We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.”
So there is confusion about Reform’s explanation for why Farage has chosen not to come, but the bottom line is he won’t be coming.
Image source, PA MediaIf you're just joining us, no, we don't have a result yet - but we expect one soon.
Here's what you've missed:
We expect the result to be declared imminently, so stick with us - you can also watch live at the top of this page.
We are expecting to hear the results of the Clacton by-election to be declared in the next hour or so.
We'll bring you the announcement as soon as we have it and you can watch live at the top of this page.
Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from Clacton
Essex Police has not advised any candidate that they should not attend the Clacton by-election count, the BBC understands.
Essex Police say in a statement: "We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count."
The force did not provide details of any conversations with Nigel Farage related to the Clacton declaration.
Image source, Reuters
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
Image source, EPATo answer this we need to go back to the beginning of the count, at 22:00 BST on Thursday night.
A number of ballot papers in each box are counted as they are brought in to the count, in order to check that the number of ballot papers in the box is the right number.
That is done with the ballot papers face up, so if you've got a lot of people standing over the counters, you can attempt to make a tally of the amount of votes you think you've got.
It's a very standard procedure, but the process does also make it possible for them to get a pretty good idea of who has won.
Henry Godfrey-Evans
Reporting from Clacton
Image source, EPAThe leader of the Monster Raving Loony Party, Howling Laud Hope, does not believe they have been overtaken as the prime comic candidate.
"We haven't lost yet," he tells me.
"Binface is the poor man's loony. We're the most sensible party of the lot."
On local policies, Laud Hope says Clacton "used to be a very profound sea-front resort for lots and lots of people around the country".
"Why not have Britain's first Disneyland here at Clacton, on the Clacton Riviera?"
Image source, Getty ImagesClacton is the latest in a run of Westminster by-elections that have taken place since Labour won its majority at the 2024 general election.
Here's a rundown of five we've had so far:
Runcorn and Helsby
Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury resigned after receiving a prison sentence - that was later suspended on appeal - for repeatedly punching a constituent. The resulting by-election, held on 1 May 2025, was won by Reform UK's Sarah Pochin.
Gorton & Denton
The by-election, held on 26 February 2026, was triggered after former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne resigned due to "significant ill health".
The now-prime minister but then-Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was blocked by Labour from standing in the race, which was subsequently won by the Green Party's Hannah Spencer in their first ever Westminster by-election victory.
Arbroath & Broughty Ferry
The 18 June by-election was triggered after incumbent MP, SNP's Stephen Gethins, was elected to the Scottish Parliament, with the Westminster constituency retained for the SNP by Lara Bird.
Aberdeen South
Like Arbroath & Broughty Ferry, this was also triggered by the incumbent MP, the SNP's then-Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, being elected to the Scottish Parliament.
However unlike Arbroath & Broughty Ferry, the SNP lost the resulting 18 June by-election to the Conservatives' Douglas Lumsden - the party's first Westminster by-election win in Scotland for more than 50 years.
Makerfield
Also held on 18 June, it was triggered by Labour MP Josh Simons stepping down to allow Andy Burnham to run for parliament, something which was not - this time round - blocked by the Labour Party.
Burnham won, Keir Starmer resigned as PM and Burnham was later elected unopposed as Labour leader and therefore UK prime minister.
Image source, EPAIan Davidson, acting returning officer for the by-election, says he is confident the count can be completed safely following Reform UK's claims that police have advised Nigel Farage to not attend.
In a statement, Davidson says by-election staff have "worked closely with Essex Police colleagues to ensure the election process is completed safely and securely".
"This includes a robust policing operation throughout the day and including at the count," he says.
"It is a candidate’s decision whether or not to attend the count. However I want to reassure people we have no reason not to proceed with the count process at this time."
Speaking further to BBC News, Davidson says he is hoping the by-election result will be declared "around" 06:00 BST.
Image source, PA MediaNigel Farage is correct not to attend the Clacton by-election declaration, says Reform UK spokesperson and local councillor Jaymey McIvor.
"He doesn't want to be demeaned or humiliated, and I make him right in that," he tells BBC News.
"To demean or humiliate the winning candidate in any election, demeans and humiliates all of those people that have taken part in the process... I think it's obviously the right decision," he says.
Asked if he was aware of this decision beforehand, McIvor says that "as a local councillor" he is not told the party leader's movements "all the time".
"I very much hope in a few hours he'll be sent back the House of Commons to continue to serve without what could have been a very pathetic attempt by some absolute nobodies to try and degrade what is a very important democratic process."
Harry Farley
Reporting from Clacton
Nigel Farage spoke about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade" the result.
He said he didn’t want to be humiliated when explaining why he wouldn’t attend the count.
But a Reform UK spokesperson has just told me it was more than humiliation. The party official says there was a "credible threat against him" at the count.
We are trying to speak to Essex Police to understand the nature of that.
A spokesman for Reform UK says: "Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count tonight due to a credible threat against him."
Nigel Farage has said he won't be attending tonight's declaration, as votes are still being counted in Clacton
Image source, PA Media
Image source, PANigel Farage will not attend the Clacton by-election count, he tells supporters a Reform UK event.
"I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," he says.
"I will not, sadly, be attending the count," he adds.
He says Essex Police has told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
We are contacting Essex Police for more details.
