Farage's by-election in Clacton officially confirmed

Reform's Lee Anderson has moved the writ in the Commons, with the by-election likely to happen on 13 August.

Farage’s finances risk derailing his project to own the British right

Probes into populist politician make him less appealing to non-Reform voters adept at tactically voting against him

Reform activists urged to switch focus from Manchester to Farage’s Clacton contest

Exclusive: Party hoped to mount serious challenge in mayoral race but attention has been diverted to Essex UK politics live – latest updates Reform UK activists have been urged to divert from the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection to support Nigel Farage’s “fake” contest 250 miles away in Clacton. A WhatsApp message shared with party members in northwest England said: “The message could not be more clear. We now need all of our fantastic activists, branch officers and councillors to come...

By Josh Halliday North of England editor

‘Not Nigel Farage’: Who is Count Binface, contesting as MP for Clacton, UK?

The joke candidate with a bin-shaped helmet is so far Farage's only challenger in the English constituency of Clacton.

Farage vs Count Binface: how UK hard-right leader’s poll gambit could backfire

British anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage faces the embarrassing prospect of going head-to-head with perennial joke candidate Count Binface in a by-election after he decided to quit parliament. His surprise move threatened to backfire on Wednesday after other heavyweight parties confirmed they would not contest the vote for Farage’s seat in southeast England. Count Binface, a self-described “intergalactic space warrior”, is the only other person to have said so far that they would run. I...

By Agence France-Presse

Burnham moves closer to becoming British PM, Farage runs against Count Binface

Veteran politician Andy Burnham is taking another step towards becoming the UK's next prime minister o, July 9 as nominations to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader formally opened. He is the only Labour member of Parliament to have publicly said they are a candidate to succeed Starmer. Another key election is taking place in Clacton, where far-right Nigel Farage will be facing Count Binface. FRANCE 24's Benedicte Paviot tells us more.

By FRANCE24

The strange and surprisingly moving story behind Count Binface, the man taking on Farage

As the main political parties refuse to take part in the Clacton by-election, only one candidate has stepped forward to challenge Farage – and he's dressed as an alien and dons a tin bin. Katie Rosseinsky takes a look at the man behind the mask

By Katie Rosseinsky

Nigel Farage v Count Binface: Reform UK leader will only face satirical candidate in ‘farcical’ by-election

By David Hughes and David Lynch

Farage wanted a coronation. He got Count Binface.

Christine Bohan, Christina Finn and Sinéad O’Carroll dig into why the stunt hasn’t gone to plan, why the five million pound “unconditional gift” is following Farage around, and what a Reform UK prime minister would mean for Ireland.