Nigel Farage has said he will not be going to the Clacton by-election count, after thousands of residents turned out to determine whether he retains the seat.
The Reform UK leader told a crowd of supporters that he would not be present for the declaration, as he claimed Essex Police has told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
The Independent has contacted Essex Police for details.
He made the remarks at ‘Farage fest’, an event several miles away from the count in the Essex countryside.
"I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory.... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," he said, but did not mention safety concerns.
Counting is now underway at the contest - which was triggered b Mr Farage resigned amid scrutiny over his finances - with the result not expected until early on Friday morning after a record number of candidates stood in the by-election,
The contest has been boycotted by the major parties, leaving Count Binface – a satirical character who has pledged to abolish VAR in football and “nationalise Adele” – as his main rival.
Returning officer confirms count will continue
Minutes after Nigel Farage said he would not be coming to the Clacton by-election count, the returning officer has made a statement.
He said that they are working “very closely” with Essex Police, and “will be continuing the count”.
The Reform UK leader told a crowd of supporters that he would not be present for the declaration, as he claimed Essex Police has told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
The returning officer said: “I am going to say that this continues. I will not comment on security matters, but I'm going to say to you that we work closely with the Essex Police.
“We just had a further meeting, but there was no there was no issue in terms of us completing the count tonight.”
Farage Fest: Where Nigel Farage is as he says he won't be attending count
While the count is well underway at Clacton-on-Sea leisure centre, Nigel Farage is several miles away in the Essex countryside, at his very own festival.
Reform UK has organised a festival, which according to GB News, is decked out with a live band, bars, fire pits, marquees.
Farage says he's not attending his own by-election declaration
Nigel Farage has said he will not be attending the Clacton by-election count in the town.
The Reform UK leader claimed Essex Police had told him about an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
He made the remarks at ‘Farage fest’, an event several miles away from the count in the Essex countryside.
Reform UK has organised a festival, which according to GB News, is decked out with a live band, bars, fire pits, marquees.
He said he will stay at the event “all night”, though not all media has been invited.
Counting well underway in Clacton
It’s the early hours of the morning here in Clacton and counting is well underway.
At around 1:25am, the returning officer Ian Davidson confirmed all the ballots had been verified, around two hours ahead of expected.
A number of candidates have arrived, including a host of Monster Raving Loony party members and the man of the hour, Count Binface.
We’re not expecting results for a few hours yet - but stay tuned.
Reform confident of Nigel Farage victory
Reform UK are confident that Nigel Farage has swept to victory in the by-election he triggered after stepping down as Clacton’s MP.
A Reform source said Mr Farage looks to be “doing well”, while the party leader himself declared had won the by-election “fairly convincingly”.
“I've managed to beat the establishment candidate,” he told GB News.
"Labour, Lib Dem, and Conservative canvassers have been out for Binface," he said.
"You know, they're not gonna win. The uni-party aren't going to win."
Returning officer describes challenges of largest-ever candidate list
The official in charge of running the Clacton by-election has detailed the lengths Tendring District Council has gone to in order to accommodate the largest-ever candidate list.
Ian Davidson, Acting Returning Officer and chief executive at Tendring council told Sky News they had taken on more staff at the count, and had put double counting tables in place so they had capacity to hold the votes for the record 34 candidates.
Mr Davidson said the overall by-election had cost about £250,000.
He said: “Some of the challenges have been including postal votes, because getting that amount in, so sending them out to the postal voters, then envelopes to be able to return them.
“Then we’ve had to put double tables on, as you can see here, more staff to be able to manage the process through, and actually the cost of the ballot papers has been about four times as much as it was in the general election because of the sheer increase in size.”
The number of candidates at 34 is in contrast to the nine who stood in the seat in the general election in July 2024, which Reform UK leader Nigel Farage won with a majority of 8,405.
By-election official explains why Farage's offer to pay for contest was rejected
A top official at tonight’s by-election count has explained why Nigel Farage’s offer to pay for the contest was rejected.
The Reform UK leader offered to cover the costs of the poll after standing down as Clacton’s MP after massive scrutiny around his financial affairs.
But returning officer Ian Davidson said they could "absolutely not" accept that offer, telling Sky News: “That would be seen to be inappropriate because it would [be] seen to be biased.
"So we certainly wouldn't accept it, and nor would government... So no political party would be paying for the election - it will be paid for out of the public purse."
Let rich pensioners opt out of state pension in exchange for OBE, Labour pressure group urges Burnham
Andy Burnham should introduce a ‘pensions sacrifice OBE’ which would allow wealthy pensioners to opt out of their state pension for at least three years in return for an honour, a Labour Party pressure group allied with the prime minister has recommended.
Compass, a leading think tank, has put together a report – seen by The Independent – outlining 100 policies they believe the prime minister should introduce in his first 100 days, which will be published in three parts over the next three weeks.
Compass is headed by Neil Lawson, who is also the co-founder of Mainstream Labour, the Burnham-backed faction set up in August 2025 that was closely associated with Mr Burnham when he was preparing to challenge Sir Keir Starmer.
In pictures: Count takes place in Clacton
