Why Binface vs Farage has turned into Clacton vs ‘ridiculous’ by-election

Alex O'Brien | Freelance journalist Published August 13, 2026 11:18am Updated August 13, 2026 11:18am Nigel Farage leaves a polling booth after casting his vote in the by-election (Picture: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock) Polling day for the Clacton by-election has arrived – and for many locals the outcome cannot come soon enough. Asked about the race between sitting MP Nigel Farage and his closest competitor, Count Binface, many told Metro they were ‘fed up’ with it all. The election, which includes 34 candidates, was called when Reform leader Farage came under fire for an alleged £5 million ‘unconditional gift’ from cryptocurrency mogul Christopher Harbourne. After resigning in order to trigger the vote, Farage said it would be a ‘people versus the establishment’ fight and let voters in Cla