Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to resign seat and trigger by-election amid donation probe
Nigel Farage announced he will vacate his Clacton constituency seat and stand again in a by-election as investigations into undeclared gifts and a £5 million donation continue.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said on Tuesday he will resign his parliamentary seat for Clacton and seek re-election in order to clear his name over financial allegations. He stated in a broadcast that he has done nothing illegal and has not misused public funds.
The standards watchdog is examining an undeclared £5 million gift from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire and also looking into donations linked to George Cottrell, a convicted crypto-gambling entrepreneur. Farage said the voters of Clacton should decide his fate, describing the upcoming contest as “people versus the establishment”.
If he wins the by-election, the parliamentary standards inquiry is expected to continue. Farage’s party, Reform UK, holds eight seats in the 650-member House of Commons and has performed strongly in recent local elections, though it has lost three consecutive special elections, most recently to Labour’s Andy Burnham.