Nigel Farage has won

We keep saying that Farage has won, but he had already won. Clacton was his seat already.
Reminds me of Gullivers Travels. Total satire

Fallingstar

We keep saying that Farage has won, but he had already won. Clacton was his seat already.
Reminds me of Gullivers Travels. Total satire

Good point, Fallingstar It was a total farce but I have to admit I was greatly amused by some of the vids I saw and very little in politics makes me laugh these days. I doubt it's done much for Farage's reputation abroad either as it has been widely covered by both the European and American press. He resigns so he can stage a fight against the "Establishment" and has to beat a rubbish bin that got getting on for half the votes that he did. Hardly a spectacular success!

Jane43

Kandinsky

Well he let the people of Clacton decide his fate and they have, with more votes than before.

Which is a ridiculous claim, the people of Clacton are not in a position to decide his fate, they do not have the facts upon which to make a decision. If they want him to continue being their MP despite him having held no surgeries or not having attended one meeting of The Clacton Regeneration Programme that’s the only decision they have made.

That is quite sweeping Jane43. How do you know if the people of Clacton have the facts or not? Have you asked all of them?

From Count Binface: Farage’s vote share went up by 0.08%, taking into account the constituency size increase since 2024.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

There is something rather odd about established parties refusing to contest Clacton and then commentators diminishing Reform’s victory because there was little opposition.

You cannot refuse to enter the ring and then complain that the winner had an easy fight.

Love him or loathe him, they still haven’t discovered how to make the bloody man give up - because he will not give up.
Vote Reform! 🇬🇧

I am with you all the way! Vote Reform!

I think what this exercise does show is that support for Reform has peaked and stalled. Previous by-elections were setting the scene.

In 2024, Labour, Tories, Liberal Dems the Greens between them took over 24,000 votes in Clacton, the Tories almost 13,000 of those.

None of them stood this time.

Clacton is not a seat that is ever likely to be won by anyone from a centre left party.

The shift we saw in 2024, especially from the elderly (and Clacton has an older population that the national average) was away from the Tories towards Reform.

Generally, voter flow from red to blue is very low.

In other words, Reform has to attract former Tory voters in seats like this. They have done in local elections with councils which were formerly under Tory control now controlled by Reform. Defectors help too.

This was an opportunity to see that same shift in a Westminster election with a candidate who is a known quantity ... and it simply didn’t happen. Farage’s raw vote has barely moved.

Casdon

From Count Binface: Farage’s vote share went up by 0.08%, taking into account the constituency size increase since 2024.

Interesting that Farage voters comprise about a third of the increase in registered voters. Which is about what many political commentators and analysts reckon is about the ceiling for what we might call far right wing support. Not just here in the UK but also in Europe.

MaizieD

Casdon

From Count Binface: Farage’s vote share went up by 0.08%, taking into account the constituency size increase since 2024.

Interesting that Farage voters comprise about a third of the increase in registered voters. Which is about what many political commentators and analysts reckon is about the ceiling for what we might call far right wing support. Not just here in the UK but also in Europe.

You might call it far right support but that doesnt make it true!

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I do not think for one minute NF will stand down. And furthermore I think the inquiry (which is taking a heck of a long time - on purpose? - surely not!) will exonerate him.

Time will tell.

Upthread, you#ve already revealed your ignorance of what gifts MP's have to reveal, and when... the timing in relation to entering Parliament. Farage was CLEARLY in breach.

The Inquiry by the Parliamentary Standards Office commenced on May 16 2026. Farage resigned on July 5th, which suspended the Inquiry. He's been re-elected, therefore still subject to Parliamentary standards so the Enquiry continues.

Right here on GN, you are demonstrating exactly how a charlatan conman gets away with conning the ignorant and misinformed .

Good for him. When his political achievements are notarised, as they all are, he’ll hold the dubious distension of beating a man dressed as a dustbin. 😂😂😂

Not exactly Churchillian is it? 🙄

Not sure why Farage was afraid to take the stage due to potential security threat. Wasn’t the £5m donation to cover his security? How much more does he think he needs to keep him safe.

Meandrogrog, no one has " the facts" on the scrutiny of Mr Farage's financial matters by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, the National Crime Agency et al, because the investigations are ongoing.

The local police say they had received no intelligence about any threats. They had received no reports from Farage about being threatened.

He was obviously just embarrassed at possible ridicule of beating a pretend dustbin. 😂

Graphite. We lived near Clacton for a few years when we were younger, it has never been or will be a place that will vote centre left or centre right unless centre right Tories are the only option . The dial has always turned further right.
And am not saying this to have a go at voters in Clacton, they are not enjoying the best opportunities in that neck of the woods and obvs believe that voting for Farage will be the solution or at the very least make their voices heard. It won’t do either and sadly Farage has shown precious little interest in the place but is their decision.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Well I'm really pleased he won because he serves a very useful role. He can continue to be a painful thorn in the side of Labour! I doubt I'd ever vote Reform but we need them.

I'm not sure why people call them 'far right' isn't that the Nazis? At what point does right wing become far right and what do you have to do to become 'far right'? Maybe one of the posters here using the term 'far right' can explain why they use that term and what it means please.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

He did a lot better than Burnham did in Makersfield.

Depends what you mean by a 'lot better' and in which way things are any better now for Farage and Reform as a result.

AB got 24,927 votes in Makerfield- Reform UK 15,696, Restore 3,111, Conservative 997, Green Party 308, Liberal Democrat 163 and Count Binface 95 votes.

In Clacton's by election Farage received 22,239 votes, Count Binface 9,455. Farage had no competition from opposition parties e.g. LP, Tories, Greens and Lib Dems.

Since the Makerfield by election AB went on to become LP leader and LP poll ratings have increased and overtaken Reform UK. AB's personal popularity ratings are currently the highest of any party leader.

Since the Makerfiled by election Reform UK ratings have continued to fall from the lead and are currently the lowest they have been since the last GE, whcih it did not win. Frage's personal ratings have also continued to fall. So not doing better in fact the opposite.

The parliamentary investigation against Farage now resumes and police investigation into Reform UK finances continues.

Farage won the vote yesterday- against a Bin who secured 9,455 votes. He continues to be Clacton MP but he was already the Clacton UK. Outside Clacton, Reform UK and Farage's brand and poll ratings continue to decline.

Is anyone able to explain what Reform UK and Farage have got to celebrate as a result of Farage's decision to call this by election?

It's quite clear: the Clacton voters have ensured Farage will face a renewed standards investigation. Excellent news! Congrats to Binface on achieving near 10,000 votes.

Maybe one of the posters here using the term 'far right' can explain why they use that term and what it means please.

The ever useful AI might help you.

Characteristics of 'far right'.

1. Extreme nationalism
The nation is treated as the primary political community, often with an emphasis on ethnic, cultural or ancestral identity. National interests are presented as overriding international obligations or universal principles.*

2. Strong hostility to immigration
Immigration is often portrayed not merely as an economic or administrative issue but as a threat to national identity, culture, social cohesion or security. This can shade into the belief that different ethnic or religious groups cannot properly coexist.*

*3. Nativism
A particularly important distinction is between ordinary nationalism and nativism: the belief that the country fundamentally belongs to its indigenous or historically established population and that outsiders are inherently less entitled to belong.*

4. “Us versus them” politics
Far-right movements commonly divide society between a supposedly virtuous “ordinary people” and various groups portrayed as enemies or corrupting influences: immigrants, minorities, political elites, intellectuals, journalists, judges, civil servants, NGOs, or “globalists”.

5. Authoritarianism
There is often a preference for strong leadership, stricter social discipline, harsher criminal penalties and greater state coercion. Institutions which constrain executive power can be portrayed as obstacles to the will of the people.

6. Hostility to pluralism
Liberal democracy assumes that different groups and opinions can legitimately coexist. Far-right politics tends to be less comfortable with this pluralism, particularly where minority rights or competing identities are concerned.

7. Rejection of liberal universalism
Ideas such as equal rights regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion or sexual orientation may be regarded as excessive or subordinate to national, cultural or traditional values.

8. Traditionalism and reaction
Far-right movements frequently idealise an earlier, supposedly more cohesive society and seek to reverse social changes involving gender roles, sexuality, multiculturalism or immigration. This is not identical to conservatism: the characteristic feature is often a desire to restore a lost social order.

9. Conspiracy thinking
Conspiracy narratives are common, particularly those involving supposedly coordinated efforts by elites or outside groups to undermine the nation. Examples include claims about “globalists”, demographic replacement, cultural Marxism, or deliberate destruction of national identity.

10. Disdain for established institutions
This can be paradoxical. Far-right movements may attack mainstream parties, Parliament, courts, universities, the civil service and the media as an illegitimate “establishment”, while simultaneously demanding much stronger executive authority.

Not my opinion. The meta analysis of a large body of writing and research into political characteristics of groups/movements in societies world wide.

Count B got not far off 10,000 votes, as against IIRC 22,000 and something, for Farage.
And Farage didn’t even have the courtesy to turn up for the result, though I doubt that anyone’s surprised by that.

Thanks, Maizie.

Sums up Reform very accurately.

A lot of cognitive dissonance on this platform

Well Chestnut perhaps you can now explain why Reform shouldn’t be called far right? Maizie’s done your homework

Tuliptree

Well Chestnut perhaps you can now explain why Reform shouldn’t be called far right? Maizie’s done your homework

To be fair, ChatGtp did it, not me. I can't spend hours researching a huge body of work

Why would you care if they call you far right, nobody pays any attention to that nonsense anymore.

That still counts as homework that clearly some posters aren’t prepared to do