The Reform leader Nigel Farage has announced that he is standing down as MP for Clacton, triggering a by-election in which he will stand as a “people v establishment candidate”
In a statement he said
“Enough is enough. I thought what shall I do. I could go and try and make some big money. I could go to the USA. I have done nothing wrong. I have decided today I will resign as an MP for Clacton on Sea thereby forcing a by-election” adding that
‘The people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people vs the establishment by-election. It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment. I will fight to win, I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started’
Farage said that he had done nothing wrong. ‘I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money’ adding that standards investigations were being used as a ‘political tools’
Andy Burnham believes that Nigel Farage’s decision to quit as MP for Clacton and trigger a by-election is a ‘gimmick’ that is designed to distract from the allegations about his finances
A spokesperson said: “This is a gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders. What really matters in politics is how we can change Westminster to take power for communities and bring it back to people to make life more affordable for them.”
Kemi Badenoch says the Tories will not stand against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election
“We’re not standing in a fake by-election”
