A TOTAL of 34 candidates have signed up for the Clacton constituency by-election triggered by Nigel Farage after he faced scrutiny of his finances amid a donations row.
The Reform UK leader quit as MP for Clacton to stand in the by-election after questions mounted about a £5 million gift he received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The party leader has billed the by-election, set to take place on August 13, as a “people versus the establishment” contest.
His foremost opponent is likely to be comedy candidate Count Binface after the main Westminster parties boycotted the contest.
Tendring District Council said a total of 34 candidates are standing in the by-election, which is believed to be a record for a parliamentary contest.
Farage will face opponents from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, actor and far-right activist Laurence Fox and an array of independents.
The council said the previous record is understood to have been 26 candidates, set at the Haltemprice and Howden by-election in July 2008, which was triggered by Tory David Davis in his own seat and similarly ignored by the main Westminster parties.
The full list of Clacton by-election candidates:
- Joseph 77 (Independent)
- Adham Alkhatip (The Forward Party)
- Count Binface (Count Binface Party)
- Nick The Incredible Flying Brick (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
- Tony Cane (Independent)
- Woke Trump Carrzee (Independent)
- William Stuart James Clouston (Social Democratic Party).
- Rees Cowne (Independent)
- Glenn Charles Cummings (Independent)
- Martin Davies (Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative!)
- Andy Erlam (Independent)
- Nigel Farage (Reform UK)
- Attieh Fard (Independent)
- Laurence Fox (The Reclaim Party)
- Tony Francis (Independent)
- Robin Green (Independent)
- Abi Hookway (Independent)
- Howling Laud Hope (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
- Stephen Richard Ingram (Independent)
- Amy Morris (Independent)
- Derrick Norbert Morris (Independent)
- Michael Noel O’Keeffe (Independent)
- Martyn OBrien (Independent)
- Nick Pelas (Independent)
- Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK VOICE safer and stronger UK)
- Daniel Pocock (Independent)
- James Ransley (Consensus Party Candidate)
- Gerry Smith (Independent)
- Kai Stephens (British Democrats)
- John Stevens (Rejoin EU)
- Baron Von Thunderclap (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)
- Pamela Walford (Independent)
- Marcus White (Everyone is God Party)
- Marc Wilkinson (Independent)
Polling last week suggested that the UK public want Count Binface to beat Farage in the by-election race.
The Ipsos survey published on Friday, July 10, suggested that one in three adults (33%) in the UK would prefer Count Binface to become the next MP for Clacton.
The Reform UK leader only gathered the support of 21% of the public, giving Count Binface a 12-point lead.
Almost a third (32%) of people said they didn’t want either candidate to win, while 13% said they didn’t know.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) said the parliamentary standards commissioner should be investigating whether the Reform UK leader broke parliamentary rules.
And 73% said the investigation should continue even if Farage wins the by-election.
The Ipsos survey, conducted on July 8 and 9, polled 1000 British adults online aged between 18 and 75.
