Nigel Farage faces a record 34 rivals as he bids to win back his old seat in Thursday's Clacton by-election.
Nigel Farage is bidding to be re-elected as MP for Clacton after resigning his seat in June, following an investigation into an undeclared £5 million gift from crypto backer Christopher Harborne.
The Reform UK leader framed the move as putting the issue directly to voters, but his decision has triggered a genuinely extraordinary contest. With every major Westminster party choosing to sit this one out, the seat has attracted a record-breaking 34 candidates, producing the longest ballot paper in British electoral history at nearly a metre long.
Among the challengers is Count Binface, the intergalactic space-warrior alter ego of comedy writer Jon Harvey, who has become the unlikely headline act of the campaign.
Laurence Fox, three separate Monster Raving Loony Party candidates and a long list of independents complete a genuinely bizarre lineup.
Here's everything punters need to know ahead of polling day.
When is the Clacton By-Election?
Voters in Clacton go to the polls on Thursday 13 August. It will be the sixth time in 12 years that the constituency has elected an MP
Clacton By-Election Odds
Who is Favourite to Win the Clacton By-Election?
Farage is a near-certainty to hold the seat, priced at just 1/40, and with no Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat or Green candidate standing against him, that price is barely surprising.
Clacton is considered one of the most Leave-leaning constituencies in the country, with an older, whiter and less university-educated population than the national average - exactly the profile that has underpinned Reform's support here since 2024.
The real interest for bettors lies not in who wins, but by how much. Farage will be hoping to build on the 46% he secured at the last general election, and a single Survation poll has put him as high as 73% this time round. History offers some guidance: in similarly uncontested by-elections - such as David Davis's stand in Haltemprice and Howden in 2008 - the dominant candidate has typically finished somewhere between 72% and 86% of the vote. That suggests Farage's likely winning margin, rather than the outcome itself, is where the genuine betting value sits.
Count Binface, meanwhile, remains a 40/1 outsider. Despite generating the bulk of the media coverage and topping national polling on preferred alternatives to Farage, the novelty candidate is not given a realistic chance of victory - though his presence has undeniably shaped the tone of the campaign.
Clacton By-Election Candidates
A record 34 names appear on the ballot paper, making it the longest in UK electoral history. Alongside Farage, the field includes:
- Count Binface - Satirical space-warrior alter ego of comedy writer Jon Harvey, the highest-profile of Farage's challengers
- Laurence Fox - Former actor turned right-wing campaigner, standing for the Reclaim Party
- Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, Howling Laud Hope and Baron Von Thunderclap - Three candidates for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- William Stuart James Clouston - Social Democratic Party
- Adham Alkhatip - The Forward Party
- Martin Davies - Freedom Alliance
- Ketankumar Pipaliya - UK Voice
- James Ransley - Consensus Party
- Kai Stephens - British Democrats, a British National Party splinter group
- John Stevens - Rejoin EU, a former Conservative MEP
- Marcus White - Everyone is God Party
- Marc Wilkinson - Essex People
The remainder of the field is made up of independents, including Joseph 77, Tony Cane, Woke Trump Carrzee, Rees Cowne, Glenn Charles Cummings, Andy Erlam, Attieh Fard, Tony Francis, Robin Green, Abi Hookway, Stephen Richard Ingram, Amy Morris, Derrick Norbert Morris, Michael Noel O'Keeffe, Martyn O'Brien, Nick Pelas, Daniel Pocock, Gerry Smith and Pamela Walford.
