Clacton - 2024, 2026
General election to By-election
At the 2024 general election (held 4 July) the voting in Clacton was:
Nigel Farage won the seat on 46.2% of the actual vote with the Conservative candidate coming second on 27.9%. The voter turnout was 58.7%. Farage therefore won the seat with the votes of about 27% of the total electorate.
Farage chose to create this by-election - (Clacton - Under Northern Skies) - and, on Thursday 13 August will face 33 other candidates including 19 independents. The larger political parties - Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens — chose not to contest the by-election. Candidates — Clacton By-Election 2026.
The likelihood is that Farage will be returned to Westminster and, if so, that will be undoubtedly be presented by Reform as vindication by the people of allegations concerning financial donations involving Farage and Reform. In reality it would be nothing of the sort. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner was required to suspend investigation into the donations but is free to resume it if Farage is returned to the House of Commons.
Farage appears to be an MP for whom a constituency is little more than a necessity in order to have a seat in Parliament. It will be interesting to see the actual vote shares in the by-election.
That said, the continuing arrival of migrants from France is grist to Farage’s political position. Neither the Conservative Party nor Labour have successfully prevented the Channel crossings although Labour claims that progress is being made - Record 230 people cross English Channel in one small boat - BBC News 10 August 2026.
Links:
All the mounting claims against Farage and Reform - inews 10 July 2026.
Poorest areas should not house all asylum seekers, says Andy Burnham - BBC News
The actual election:
14 August 2026 - Unsurprisingly, Farage was returned as MP. He secured 36.4% of the votes with a turnout of 44.4%. That amounts to 28.1% of the voters.
The depleted turnout can probably be mainly accounted for by the fact that the main political parties chose not to field candidates.
Clacton By-Election: 13 August 2026 - Polls & Candidates | PollCheck
Standards watchdog resumes investigation into Nigel Farage over financial gifts | Nigel Farage | The Guardian
