Farage resigns as MP for Clacton and will contest resulting byelection
Nigel Farage has announced he will resign as the MP for Clacton and fight the resulting byelection, a high-stakes move that he said was part of "sticking two fingers up at the establishment" and would prove the public wanted him to stay on as an MP. The Reform UK leader revealed his intentions in a defiant address, claiming the establishment was out to prevent a Reform government and accusing the media of a "pile-on" and of harassing his family.
Farage said he was not quitting for the US or to go back into business, but that he refused to be judged by the media and would resign to fight for his seat again. His resignation comes as he is under a second investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over undeclared gifts. The first inquiry concerns his failure to make public a £5m gift from the billionaire crypto investor Christopher Harborne before the last election, as revealed by the Guardian in April. The second investigation, announced on Tuesday, is over allegations that he was financially supported by the crypto gambler and convicted fraudster George Cottrell, who is a close friend.
Because of his resignation, the inquiries will probably be paused, but could potentially be resumed if deemed proportionate after the byelection. If he were to be suspended as a result, there could even be a second byelection after that.
Reactions inside Reform UK
Inside Reform UK, the mood is described as upbeat, with one insider saying of the prospect of a double byelection: "Bring it on." Farage is an enthusiastic and highly skilled campaigner, and is clearly relishing the idea of going to his electorate with a "Clacton versus the establishment" message, although doing so twice within weeks might test even his commitment – especially when the Reform UK leader is forced to argue that the establishment is embodied by an anthropomorphised bin.
There is nonetheless an inescapable sense of strategy being devised on the hoof, with the party's idea of getting ahead of a forced byelection swiftly undermined by unexpected events. According to two Reform officials, Farage had been expecting the standards commissioner, who is examining whether he should have declared the £5m gift, to report back this week. A highly critical verdict was anticipated, as was a lengthy Commons suspension, which might well have triggered a byelection via the recall petition process. Farage's pre-emptive resignation and re-standing was meant to be a way to seize the initiative.
The first surprise came when the commissioner informed Farage that the investigation was being widened to look into allegations in the Sunday Times that he had received other undeclared assistance from Cottrell. The decision to call the byelection was made days in advance, before that development was known. Despite the circumstances changing, Farage decided to press ahead, with one Reform insider saying it "did not appear to have been entirely well thought through."
The other surprise was the very swift decision by every major party to not stand in the byelection, leaving Farage to face what has been described as single combat with a giant bin – a reference to a local protest candidate.
Leadership questions and internal tensions
Westminster has been ablaze with rumours that Farage is growing weary in the job of leading Reform UK after the bruising scandal around the Harborne gift. One friend of Farage who has spent time with him in recent weeks dismissed the speculation: "Of course he's tired. He's just done two months campaigning every day on the road, it would be weird if he wasn't. But that doesn't mean he's going to quit."
As he awaits the verdict of the standards watchdog, Farage has flown to the US to rub shoulders with the Maga elite once again, with sources saying he is back in close contact with the Trump administration.
In London, Reform UK's Millbank HQ is more riven with infighting and jostling for position than usual, amid questions over Farage's future. There is also anxiety over the party's recent byelection losses – and its decision to push further towards the hard right to take on the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain.
Old-time Reformers distrust the former Tories who have joined the party, primarily Robert Jenrick and his team, whom they suspect of plotting to succeed Farage, possibly in the event of a post-election deal with the Tories – something Jenrick denies. Meanwhile, Zia Yusuf, the party's combative donor and home affairs spokesperson, has spoken of not being picked to stand in byelections, and clashed with Jenrick on social media over the party's deportation policy.
When Reform sources briefed the media that there was a push to get rid of Yusuf for shifting further to the right after the Makerfield byelection loss, the party's policy chief, James Orr, endorsed a message in support of him, likening his critics to "snakes in the grass."
At the root of the tensions is the question of who is the likely successor if Farage is unable to politically survive the scrutiny of the standards investigations.
Farage's statement and next steps
In his statement, Farage said: "I thought about it hard and I've decided today I will resign as a member of parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a byelection … I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment byelection. It's a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly tell them where to go and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this byelection."
The byelection is now set to take place, with Farage expected to campaign heavily in the constituency. The decision by major parties to stand aside means the contest could focus on a narrow set of issues, with Farage framing it as a referendum on his leadership and the establishment's attempts to unseat him.