A parliamentary investigation into a £5m gift received by Nigel Farage from a crypto-billionaire has resumed after he was re-elected as the MP for Clacton.
The Reform UK leader had resigned after facing scrutiny over his and the party’s finances, but his by-election victory means the probe into the alleged failure to register an interest – which was suspended when he stood down – has now resumed.
Its resumption means there is a possibility Mr Farage will have to face a second by-election in just a few weeks.
He was returned as the MP at around 6am on Friday morning, winning more than 22,000 votes in a contest that was boycotted by the major parties who had claimed it was a political stunt.
His closest rival, satirical candidate Count Binface, took more than 20 per cent of the ballot, with almost 10,000 votes, in an election estimated to have cost taxpayers about £250,000.
Mr Farage also refused to appear at the count over claims he was advised by police due to a “credible threat” not to attend, which Essex Police deny.
Within hours of the result, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards confirmed its investigation has now resumed. Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities .
Mr Farage has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said that he was not required to register the £5m “gift” because it was purely personal.
But, if the probe concludes with a recommendation that the former Ukip leader be suspended from Parliament for more than 10 days, it could trigger a second by-election.
And polling experts told The Independent that the outcome of such a vote was not a foregone conclusion.
Julian Gallie, head of research at pollster Merlin Strategy, said: “It looks like Farage would likely win any second by-election in Clacton. His raw vote was higher than his general election result and with multiple parties running it would be hard to see who else can get to 50 per cent. That being said, we don’t know what the introduction of a strong Conservative and/or Restore candidate could do to Reform voters.”
Tory peer and polling expert Lord Hayward said Mr Farage’s seat could be at risk if voters decided to act tactically and support the town’s former MP, a Tory who held the constituency until 2024.
The result in Clacton speaks for itself. pic.twitter.com/iQeaYxT35J
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) August 14, 2026
He said: “Do I think he would win another by-election having been down there? Yes, I do... unless there was some coalescence around Giles Watling and you could get people deliberately voting tactically. And there’s no question that people are more and more willing nowadays to do so.”
He said he would be “surprised” if Mr Farage lost, although he would expect him to have a lower majority the second time around.
Speaking at “Farage Fest”, an event several miles away from the count in the Essex countryside where he stayed for the entire evening, Mr Farage told supporters the police had told him about an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
“I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies,” he said.
The event, which most of the media were not invited to, was decked out with a live band, bars, fire pits and marquees.
Reform UK said overnight that police had told him not to attend the count due to a “credible threat” against him.
However, it is understood that Essex Police did not advise any candidate not to attend the count.
Clacton by-election acting returning officer Ian Davidson said he did not know that Mr Farage would not attend the count until the Reform UK leader announced in a speech to his supporters elsewhere in Essex.
In the wake of his victory, Mr Farage celebrated the win with a one-line post on X, featuring a photograph of him taken at Farage Fest.
“The result in Clacton speaks for itself,” he wrote.
But Labour said the Clacton by-election was “no victory for Nigel Farage” and “shows he likely has so much to hide”.
Party chair Bridget Phillipson MP said: “Let’s be clear: this is no victory for Nigel Farage. The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin.
“This morning, Nigel Farage shouldn’t be celebrating – he should wake up and smell the coffee. He must come clean with the public and put all the facts on the table over his secret £5m gift, his relationship with a convicted fraudster, and the other scandals his Party is drowning in.
“Farage’s distraction by-election doesn’t clear his name – it just shows he likely has so much more to hide.”
Mr Farage was also due to make what was billed as a “major speech” in Clacton at 10.30am on Friday, but Reform cancelled it, saying he had “already commented on the expected result of the by-election”.
The Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour all announced that they would not stand in the by-election with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as “fake” and Sir Keir Starmer calling it “a desperate political stunt”.
But there was no shortage of people standing, with the longest-ever list of candidates, 34.
Count Binface – a satirical character who has pledged to abolish VAR in football, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and “nationalise Adele” – emerged as his main competitor.
The comedian, who is described as an “independent space warrior” and wears a bin on his head, has stood in a number of elections, including contests against Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and most recently the by-election in Makerfield, where he received 95 votes.
Read MoreParliamentary probe into Nigel Farage’s £5m gift resumes after Clacton victory
Despondent Clacton reacts to Farage’s return in ‘joke by-election’
Readers slam Farage’s Clacton no-show as police dispute ‘threat’
UK aid cuts more than double what was expected at £1.2 billion, analysis finds
PM warns ‘UK is a tinderbox’ as he scrambles to respond to wildfires gripping country
Farmers at ‘breaking point’ as heatwave Britain puts livelihoods under threat
