Knaresborough candidate talks about experience of taking on Count Binface and Nigel Farage at Clacton by-election

A Knaresborough man has talked about his experiences as a candidate in the recent Clacton by-election – battling Nigel Farage and a ‘colourful’ cast of characters.

Standing for the Freedom Alliance party, of which he is party leader, this former banker, who wife Sarah grew up in Knaresborough and is the party's General Secretary, received a total of 60 votes.

It may not have been as much as Nigel Farage (22,239) or Coun Binface (9,455) but competing in the high-profile electoral battle was certainly memorable.

“It was a very odd experience,” said Martin.

"On the surface, it felt as though the eyes of the world were on Clacton but, once you were out campaigning, it could feel as though you were almost invisible.

"I only bumped into Count Binface at the actual count.

"He'd said he was running a largely virtual campaign, and he certainly created plenty of media interest when he arrived at the count.

"The reaction from the press pack was extraordinary.

"We missed Farage not once but twice.

"On one occasion we were told he'd been in the previous evening and, on another, our train was cancelled at the last minute otherwise we would have been in the same place.

"We were told by one pub owner that his security and film crew always arrived shortly before him.

"It all seemed very carefully choreographed.”

The Freedom Alliance proposes ending corporate sponsorship of MPs, operates without a party whip, and wants greater transparency so voters can more easily see who meets and lobbies their MP, what interests are involved and how their MP votes.

So, having survived the dramas of the campaign trail, is Martin hoping to repeat the experience?

The answer, he says, is a straight no.

"There were plenty of colourful characters around and it certainly gave myself and Sarah an interesting insight into modern-day politics and elections from the inside,” said Martin.

"But this was a one-off for me.

"Freedom Alliance has already decided that our focus should be on council elections, where we believe more power should sit locally rather than being concentrated at Westminster or with elected mayors.

"The experience also reinforced how difficult it is for smaller parties and independents to get heard.

"With 34 candidates, there simply wasn't enough media space for everyone to explain what they stood for.”