WALTON NAZE(National Times)- Polls opened on Thursday in an eastern England by-election that pits hard-right leader Nigel Farage \u2014 often touted as a potential future British prime minister \u2014 against perennial joke candidate Count Binface in a vote shunned by the country\u2019s main political parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Polling stations in the eastern Essex constituency of Clacton opened at 7am with Farage up against 33 fringe candidates, most prominently Binface, who welcomed the day of the vote by quipping on X: \u201cBin Day cometh\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one polling station, a sample ballot paper with the lengthy list of candidates hanging at the entrance was taller than most voters, a journalist saw. Farage, leader of anti-immigration party Reform UK \u2014 which had topped national polls for 18 months before slipping recently \u2014 has represented Clacton in parliament since 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He shocked Westminster and beyond when he announced his resignation on July 7 following intense scrutiny of his and Reform\u2019s finances, branding it a \u201cstitch-up\u201d. That triggered a by-election which he vowed to stand in, framing it as \u201cthe people of Clacton versus the Establishment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,\u201d he said in a video released on Thursday, before casting his vote in the town of Walton-on-the-Naze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
England\u2019s mainstream political parties have branded the election a stunt, accusing Farage of seeking to avoid financial scrutiny, and boycotted the vote. That left the Brexit backer facing a list of joke candidates led by Count Binface \u2014 self-described \u201cintergalactic space warrior\u201d from the fictional planet Sigma IX who wears a rubbish bin on his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Binface \u2014 the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey \u2014 has spent almost a decade as a joke candidate in UK politics and traditionally embraces the absurd. But in Clacton he is grabbing all the attention, and while analysts give Farage a clear victory, Binface could win as much as 20 percent of the vote, according to polling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political analysts have downplayed the vote\u2019s wider significance in a constituency that overwhelmingly backed Brexit a decade ago. \u201cIt will be astonishing if Farage were not to win,\u201d political scientist John Curtice said. But some say it shows Farage\u2019s election gambit has backfired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFarage\u2019s plan to turn this by-election into a serious political battle failed,\u201d Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel said, noting the resulting spectacle \u201cmakes Farage look rather silly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018We can\u2019t decide\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clacton voter Phil, in his 50s, appeared to agree. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to change anything,\u201d he said, noting if Farage won as expected a parliament committee probe into his finances that paused when he resigned would restart. \u201cI get what he\u2019s saying, but we can\u2019t decide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WALTON NAZE(National Times)- Polls opened on Thursday in an eastern England by-election that pits hard-right leader Nigel Farage \u2014 often touted as a potential future British prime minister \u2014 against perennial joke candidate Count Binface in a vote shunned by the country\u2019s main political parties. Polling stations in the eastern Essex constituency of Clacton opened […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n