Clacton goes to the polls on today with a record 34 candidates on the longest ballot paper in British history - and Nigel Farage the runaway favourite to win back the seat he quit weeks ago.
Clacton goes to the polls on Thursday in one of the strangest parliamentary contests British politics has seen in years, with 34 names on a ballot paper measuring roughly three feet long, the longest in UK electoral history.
The seaside seat is up for grabs after Nigel Farage quit as MP in July, triggering the vote himself just weeks after questions emerged over an undeclared £5million gift from a crypto billionaire.
Rather than wait out a parliamentary standards probe, Farage chose to put his position straight back to voters, framing the whole affair as the public versus Westminster.
None of the big three parties - Labour, the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats - bothered fielding a candidate, leaving the field to a sprawling cast of independents, fringe parties and one man campaigning in a silver trash-can costume.
Around 79,785 people are eligible to vote across Clacton, Jaywick, Frinton, Walton-on-the-Naze and the surrounding villages, with more than 10,700 postal votes already banked before polling day.
Here's everything you need to know about the odds, the frontrunner, voting times and when a result is likely to land.
Clacton By-Election Odds
Who is the favourite to win the Clacton By-Election?
Nigel Farage is a heavy odds-on favourite (1/50) to reclaim the seat he vacated only weeks ago. He held Clacton comfortably at the 2024 general election with a majority north of 21,000, and with no mainstream party standing against him this time, most pollsters expect that margin to grow rather than shrink.
His most talked-about rival is Count Binface (45/1), the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, who has built a national profile fighting novelty campaigns against the likes of Rishi Sunak and Sadiq Khan.
Binface is not expected to trouble Farage at the top of the count, but a strong showing would still count as a moral victory given the size and oddity of the field.
Beyond the two headline names, a further 32 candidates are standing, including three representing the Official Monster Raving Loony Party and 20 independents, itself a record for a single UK election.
When is the Clacton By-Election
Polling stations across the constituency are open from 07:00 to 22:00 on Thursday. Voters need photo ID, a driving licence or passport will do, and will be handed the now-famous 90cm ballot paper listing all 34 names.
Fifty-one polling stations are operating across Clacton and the wider constituency, taking in Jaywick, Frinton, Walton-on-the-Naze and rural spots like St Osyth, Weeley and Great Bentley.
When are the Clacton By-Election Results?
Counting begins as soon as polls close at 22:00, with ballot boxes trickling into Clacton Leisure Centre through the evening and the last expected by around 23:30. Because of the sheer length of the ballot paper and the scale of sorting required, organisers expect the count to run well past the early hours - with a declaration likely somewhere between 05:00 and 07:00 on Friday morning. Whoever wins won't officially take their seat until Parliament returns from summer recess in September.
