Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO London: British right-wing leader Nigel Farage has made a shock decision to quit parliament over a series of media reports about his links to wealthy donors, and said he will run in a by-election to
London: British right-wing leader Nigel Farage has made a shock decision to quit parliament over a series of media reports about his links to wealthy donors, and said he will run in a by-election to show he has a public mandate to remain in politics.
The decision means voters in his regional electorate will be asked to decide whether to keep Farage as their local member or reject him over questions about donations he received from a billionaire investor and an aristocrat who was convicted of fraud.
Farage declared he was angry about media intrusions into his private life and said he had done nothing wrong by receiving help from his rich friends, saying parliamentary rules were not intended to curb an MP’s private life.
After calling a press conference for 2pm in London on Tuesday (11pm that night, AEST), the Reform UK party leader gained live media coverage of his decision to test voter support in his own seat.
The move is unusual in the Westminster system, where it is common for MPs to switch parties or become independents without proving their popular support in a by-election.
The move could cost several hundred thousand pounds due to the cost of holding the by-election and counting votes in Clacton-on-Sea, north-east of London.
After speaking for 14 minutes about concerns about his privacy and media reports about the financial support he had received, Farage announced the surprise decision to put his fate in the hands of local voters.
He scolded the media for their reporting and said they should not have any authority over his future.
“Why should they be the ones to decide my fate, when, as I repeat, I have done nothing wrong?” he said.
“I have given it a lot of thought and have decided today – today – I will resign as Member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thus forcing a by-election, which I hope will occur shortly.
“I have decided that the people of Clacton should be the judge of my actions. This will be a by-election between the people and the establishment.
“It is an opportunity to point the finger at the entire establishment, to tell them frankly where to go.
“And that is why I will put my name forward to stand in this by-election. I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.”
Farage is the subject of a formal investigation into a £5 million ($9.7 million) gift he received from Christopher Harborne, who lives in Thailand and is estimated to be worth billions of pounds.
He also faces calls for the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to conduct a separate inquiry into help he received from George Cottrell, an aristocratic investor known as “Posh George”, who served prison time in the US for wire fraud.
However, calling a by-election cannot cancel any investigation into the donations, because a commissioner could choose to continue a review whether or not Farage returns to the Commons.
“The inquiry into parliamentary rules continues whether you are in the House or not,” said Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell.
Based on previous election results and current opinion polls, Farage appears likely to retain his seat.
Farage won Clacton in the 2024 general election with 46.2 per cent of the vote, putting him well ahead of his nearest rival in the first-past-the-post system, which does not allocate preferences.
He had a clear lead over the Conservative Party candidate, who received 27.9 per cent of the vote, and the Labor candidate, who received 16.2 per cent.
The latest national opinion poll shows Reforma has 24 percent support among voters, ahead of the Conservative Party on 20 percent. The YouGov poll, conducted at the end of June, showed Labor had 19 per cent support.
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David Crowe is European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect through X either email.From our partners
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