Nigel Farage officially quits as MP and triggers by-election against Count Binface after other parties accused of 'running scared'

Nigel Farage has officially quit as MP for Clacton and triggered a by-election against Count Binface after other major political parties have been accused of “running scared.”

Following the announcement yesterday, the process of removing Mr Farage has been officially completed after he was appointed as steward and bailiff of the Manor of Northstead under the procedure used to resign from the House of Commons.

Count Binface is set to be the only opposition to Mr Farage after all other political parties have chosen not to stand candidates.

Lee Anderson told GB News yesterday that other parties were “running scared.”

Regarding the Conservatives, Mr Anderson told the People’s Channel: “I think this just proves that the Tories are running scared. They know they will probably lose their deposit in Clacton, they had a poor showing last time.

“Bear in mind this should have been and was a safe Tory seat, and I think Nigel had one of the biggest swings at the last general election. I think Kemi is running scared."

His comments came after the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, made her feelings clear following Mr Farage’s resignation: “He went on telly having a hissy fit because for the first time, he is finally having to face some scrutiny after a very long honeymoon and he cannot handle it.

"All of us MPs have to register our donations, we have to register our gifts, nobody is above the law. He decides that he doesn't want to do what everyone else has to do, that he is better than everybody, and now there's an investigation.”

Andy Burnham's last public threat to becoming the new Prime Minster has thrown his support behind the Makerfield MP.

Former defence minister Al Carns has confirmed to Sky News that he will not be running against Mr Burnham and instead will back him.

Nominations for the Labour leadership begin tomorrow, if no other candidates put their name forward, Mr Burnham will become Labour leader next Friday.

He would then take over as PM on July 20.

The Conservatives have welcomed the expected law change that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will make allowing for grooming gang leader Shabir Ahmed to be deported from the UK.

Ahmed was released from prison last week, following 14 years in prison for 30 child rape offences.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "Shabir Ahmed's crimes were vile and he must be urgently deported back to Pakistan.

"The Conservatives led the calls for his deportation, developing a detailed plan to change the law. I am glad Labour have finally u-turned and agreed to do what we proposed days ago.

"They must do this in emergency legislation so we don't lose any more time. It should never have taken this long."

Donald Trump has said he prefers to be number one of TikTok rather than “number one on the kill list for Iran”.

The US president warned he may be assassinated by Iran in his closing remarks at the Nato summit in Turkey.

He said: “It’s a very dangerous profession. I’m number one on the kill list for Iran. They’re lovely people. I’m number one.

“I don’t really care, because I’m doing my job, and I’m doing it, I hope, better than anybody’s ever done it, because we have a country that’s hot and really, really successful.

“But I mentioned it only because it’s on the list.

“I like being number one on TikTok better, but I’m number one on the list for killing.”

Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is set to announce changes to the law to allow Shabir Ahmed, 73, to be deported.

Ahmed was released from prison last week after he served 14 years of a 22-year sentence for 30 child rape offences.

However, the Pakistani-born man cannot be deported due to legislation from 1971 protecting Commonwealth citizens from removal.

The Home Secretary is set to announce changes on Monday that will allow him to be deported. She will announce closure of a loophole in the Immigration Act 1971.

This will not mean Ahmed will be deported as thus far, Pakistan have refused to take him, a source told the Telegraph it will be up to the Foreign Office to make sure he is removed from the UK.

Sir Keir Starmer said it has been a “huge privilege” to represent the UK on the international stage as he marked his final foreign summit as prime minister.

He said the UK’s reputation abroad is in a “materially better place now” than when he started as prime minister two years ago.

“No. I think it’s really important for me to emphasise what a privilege it is to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the country that I love, and to be able to represent our country both at home and on the international stage is a huge privilege,” he said.

“My job now is to make sure that my successor can build on that, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Reform UK has announced that the proposed date for the Clacton by-election will be August 6.

In a statement, a Reform spokesman said: "Reform UK will move the writ tomorrow morning, and we are proposing a by-election on 6 August."

Nigel Farage will be running in the by-election, despite being the MP who stood down to force it, with his current opposition only being Count Binface.

Mr Farage confirmed that Reform will pay for the by-election.

He confirmed to GB News: "We as a party will cover the cost."

GB News Deputy Political Editor, Tom Harwood, has explained to GB News readers how Nigel Farage was able resign as MP for Clacton, read his thoughts below:

Nigel Farage is no longer an MP. But MPs can't technically resign their office, as they are put there by the people. So how did he resign? As with all MP resignations, Mr Farage had to use a loophole developed over centuries of British constitutional history.

Certain ‘offices of profit’ under the crown are incompatible with membership of the House of Commons for various archaic reasons.

A 1680 Commons resolution said that any MP accepting an “office or place of profit” from the Crown would automatically lose their seat. This was a measure to prevent the King effectively buying the loyalty of MPs at a time of fractious relations between Parliament and the Crown.

As a result, taking certain offices would disqualify membership of the commons absolutely, and taking others (including ministerial positions) would necessitate a by-election in their seat.

Mandatory by-elections for Cabinet appointments continued to take place until 1919, when the requirement was abolished within nine months of an election, and the requirement was abolished entirely in 1926.

These days (since the House of Commons Disqualification Act, 1975) the disqualification rule only applies to certain offices explicitly set out in statute. These include civil servants, judges, lords, MSs, MSPs, and metro mayors.

Two pretend (unpaid) offices of profit are kept on the books in order for MPs to be disqualified or 'resign' by being appointed to them: Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, and as Mr Farage has just been appointed, Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.

Nigel Farage has told GB News that he is being "painted like a criminal" by the establishment, in an exclusive interview.

Speaking to GB News National Reporter Will Godley, he was pressed on whether he believes the by-election is "unnecessary" given the reaction from the other parties, Mr Farage disagreed.

He said: "It's not a waste of money, because I've already said whatever the cost of this by-election, we as a party will cover the cost.

"I've written to Rachel Reeves already and said that won't cost the taxpayer a single penny. So that's a start."

He continued: "Secondly, it seems that the media and political classes want to paint me out to be like a war criminal, as if everything I've ever done is wrong, is bent, is corrupt.

"I don't get a chance to properly answer it, and I don't see why I should be judged by them."

Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has claimed that 'Nato is stronger' following the conclusion of the summit in Turkey.

Despite tensions between US president Donald Trump and other nations, Sir Keir said: "what Trump said at the end of meeting was really instructive. Trump said he was pleased to welcome the spirit and unity of the meeting.

"The answer to whether Nato is stronger is yes, that was all of our main focus coming into this summit.

Following comments of Mr Trump's criticising defence spending across Nato, the Prime Minister said: "We've now increased defence spending twice in the two years I have been Prime Minster, and now we have taken it to £300billion over four years.

"That is a record, in terms of the amount we spend, and it is the biggest sustained increase for half a century."

Parliament has banned Count Binface from donning his classic space sotume and bin head in the Commons if he were to win a seat.

The Clacton candidate is currently the only individual to have issued a formal challenge to Nigel Farage in the seaside constituency.

Labour has allowed the Clacton by-election to go ahead despite fears mounting over whether the Government could block Nigel Farage's bid to hold a contest.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves ssaid: "I will accept Nigel Farge's request to be appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Mnaor of Northstead.

"It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better.

"But if he wants to psend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him."

The last woman who was hanged in Britain has been granted a conditional pardon by the King.

Labour MP Pam Cox asked the Deputy Prime Minister about Ruth Ellis, whose "case serves as a haunting reminder of a time when our justice system ignored the realities of domestic abuse and coercive control".

Ellis's case "must strengthen the Government's resolve to free women from devastating cycles of abuse".

Issuing a response, Mr Lammy announced that King Charles accepted the Government's advice to grant the criminal a conditional pardon after her death.

he said: "While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognise a profound injustice in this exceptional case.

"We hope this brings a measure of peace to Ruth Ellis' family, who have carried the weight of what happened to her for over 70 years."

The Liberal Democrats' deputy leader has called on David Lammy to heap pressure onto Rachel Reeves to block Nigel Farage's by-election bid.

Mr Lammy accused Mr Farage of trying to "distract from the fact that he's up to his neck in sleaze" with the snap contest.

The Labour minister added: "He's got serious questions to answer and he can't run away from them. Labour isn't going to be part of this circus.

"I hear it's the people versus the establishment: the city trader, Putin-admiring professional politician whose pals with crypto billionaires versus Count Binface."

Sir James Clevely has demanded Davids Lammy commits to ditching Labour's proposals to axe select jury trials.

Going head-to-head in the Commons, the Conservative said: "Another thing that the country and indeed this House knows instinctively wrong is his personal crusade to scrap trial by jury.

"We know that it will not clear the backlog, we know it undermines fundamental British freedoms and we know the legal profession is united against.

"Will he now admit that it is wrong and will he commit to reverse his proposals to scrap trial by jury?"

Mr Lammy retorted: "There is no proposal to scrap trial by jury, there is a threshold change. Margaret Thatcher made a change to jury trials, David Cameron made a change to jury trials."

A Tory frontbencher has heaped pressure on David Lammy after the Deputy Prime Minister failed to apologise to victims.

"I'm genuinely shocked that when given the opportunity to apologise to victims he very publicly failed to do so," Sir James Cleverly fumed, pointing to past comments from rape gangs survivor Fiona Goddard.

Mr Lammy said: "Of course, we think of every victim and that's why we're notifying victims. All of us want to see offenders locked up, that's why we've got to have prison capacity."

Sir James Cleverly has grilled David lammy over Labour's early release scheme.

The Tory frontbencher said: "Will he apologise to the victims of the rapists, sexual predators and paedophiles that he's planning to release early?"

Firing back a response, the Deputy Prime Minister heaped blame on their "Tory inheritance" and claimed Labour was building more prison places.

David Lammy and James Cleverly are going head-to-head in the House of Commons while Sir Keir Starmer is away at the Nato summit.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has written to Rachel Reeves to demand she blocks Mr Farage's push for a by-election.

He said: "The Chancellor has the power to stop Farage's cynical ploy. I've written to her this morning urging her to act.

"Farage should not be allowed to resign until the investigation into his dodgy dealings has concluded. The people of Clacton deserve the facts first."

Labour MPs have been mulling over whether they can block Nigel Farage's by-election in Clacton after the Reform UK leader dared the political establishment to take him on at the ballot box.

Mr Farage, who resigned as the MP for Clacton yesterday, set out his stall for why voters in his seaside seat should decide his political future.

He said: "I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions."

However, Mr Farage could be blocked from triggering a by-election after MPs last night held talks to amend the motion which formally sets the date for a snap contest.

Kemi Badenoch has been of "running away" as the Tory leader committed to fighting the "real" by-election in Clacton.

"Are you frightened of Farage?" Christopher Hope asked.

But, unshaken, the Tory leader responded: "Why would I be frightened of it?"

"Because you're running away from a fight with it," the GB News presenter grilled.

"There will be a real by-election on the streets of Clacton - unless Farage is saying that he can't win against Count Binface.

"If he beats Count Binface, then there'll be a second real by election. And we will be fighting then.

"Now. I'm not scared of anybody. He is the one who's running scared. He stopped having his press conferences once the questions got tough.

"He had a honeymoon period. I didn't get a honeymoon period. As Leader of the Opposition, I've had to fight every single step of the way. And, you know, I didn't run away from questions."

Kemi Badenoch has issued a rallying cry to Conservatives across the country after the Tory leader was accused of "walking away" from challenging Nigel Farage.

"You want to beat Farage, don't you? You want to kick him out of politics. You've got an opportunity here and you've walked away. Explain to viewers why you've done that," GB News's Political Editor told GB News.

"So we will compete when there is a real by-election," Mrs Badenoch retorted. "You know I'm a Conservative, I love competition, I like winning.

"We won Aberdeen South, we beat Reform there.

"Do you remember when people were saying to stand down in Makerfield and then Farage will stand down for you and Aberdeen South?

"And I said, I don't stand down for anybody. We will fight every party, especially Labour, because they're the ones who are running the country and creating these problems.

"Nigel Farage wants everything to be about himself."

Kemi Badenoch has issued a response after Nigel Farage said his daughter was "intimidated" by the media.

"I do understand about the pressures on family," Mrs Badenoch told GB News. "Our families feel it the most."

The leader continued: "The bottom line is that somebody knocked on the door. I'm sure that would have been frustrating, but it does not justify his ranting at the press, shouting at everybody, threatening people.

"You know, we have a free press in this country. Even Prince Harry has to deal with the free press. We all have to deal with it."

Kemi Badenoch has doubled down on her promise to stand a Conservative candidate in the "real" Clacton by-election.

The Tories announced they would not stand a candidate to challenge Nigel Farage yesterday afternoon, as the party leader branded the Reform UK chief's triggering of the contest a "fake" election.

Mrs Badenoch told GB News: "This is a fake by-election. I will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will come later, after this investigation has concluded.

"And the reason why I think that there will be a by-election is because he's doing this to stop people finding out what actually happened.

"Many people were not aware of this fishy £5million, but people were not aware of an investigation. I think Nigel Farage is facing intense pressure. He's cracking under the pressure and this is a hissy fit that he's thrown."

Zia Yusuf has delivered a direct message to GB News viewers ahead of the upcoming by-election in Clacton.

He told GB News: "They (the Clacton constituents) are the voters. They are the people who actually matter, with regards to Nigel's performance as an MP.

"I'd reiterate to GB News viewers, just as it was for the local elections when Labour and the Tories - we call them the uniparty for a reason - coordinated to try and cancel elections for millions of people.

"Isn't it extraordinary how in this people versus establishment election they can work together at lightning speed?

"I mean, I said earlier today that, if HS2 was delivered with this level of coordination from the political establishment would have trained twice the speed of sound for about £10million."

Reform UK's Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has taken aim at the mainstream parties for refusing to a stand a candidate in the Clacton by-election.

Asked why he believed the main parties have opted out of challenging Mr Farage, he told GB News: "Well, there's clearly only one possible reason why.

"The entire political establishment - Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems, the Greens - are refusing to stand against Nigel Farage in this upcoming by-election simply because they know that they would lose.

"You think that Labour and the Tories, if they thought they had even a modicum of a chance of unseating the man who has been the thorn in their side for decades? You think they wouldn't take that shot?"

Nearly a third of Britons believe media coverage is biased against Nigel Farage, a new poll shows.

The Reform UK leader triggered a by-election in a speech where he said: "For over 20 years now, I have been subject to constant demonization by the press."

Around 29 per cent of Britons say the media is generally biased against him, snap polling from YouGov has revealed.

Some 24 per cent believe the media is fair and blaanced in their coverage of Mr Farage, while 18 per cent claim the Reform candidate is the "recipient of an overly sympathetic media environment".

Three quarters of those who back Reform say that he is the victim of biased reporting, while 51 per cent of Tories think the same.

Meanwhile, only nine to 15 per cent of the left-leaning parties, including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, believe this to be true.

Green voters think the media environment tilts in favour of their right-wing rival, while the Liberal Democrats are the party that is most likely to say that the media has been fair and balanced (42 per cent).

Mr Farage has seemingly been quiet in the last few weeks. Some were speculating that perhaps he was losing his appetite for the fight, as media stories about his sources of funding began to multiply.

Meanwhile, his party’s lead in the polls has narrowed somewhat as a result of the modest boost that Labour have enjoyed since Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation.

But in declaring his decision to resign as the MP for Clacton Mr Farage has once again demonstrated his remarkable ability to steal the limelight.

It ensures that the arrival of Andy Burnham in Downing Street will not be the only political story filling the political void during the quietude of the August holiday season.

The Defence Secretary has issued a message of support to Nigel Farage's sole competitor ahead of the Clacton by-election.

Commenting on the Reform UK leader's resignation as MP, Dan Jarvis said: "I don't think that has played out particularly well for him. I don't think it's been well received.

"I've had some quite interesting feedback from my constituents that this is just a complete circus and a complete waste of time.

"Looks like Count Binface will be sort of stepping forward, and good luck to him."

Almost 50 per cent of the British public oppose Nigel Farage calling a by-election in his Clacton constituency.

Pollsters at YouGov have revealed that 43 per cent of Britons disagree with the plans, while 24 per cent back his bid to do so.

After Nigel Farage resigned as MP for Clacton yesterday, all the main political parties' decisions on whether they were going to field a candidate dribbled out throughout the afternoon.

Labour and the Tories both refused standing candidates against the Reform UK leader, with Kemi Badenoch ripping into Mr Farage's "hissy fit".

Mrs Badenoch said: “We will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will follow the standards investigation into Nigel Farage’s fishy finances.

"We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening."

Similarly, Restore Britain's Rupert Lowe refused to field a candidate, adding a candidate will stand "when the investigations into Farage’s finances conclude as we all suspect they will".

And, late last night, the Greens' newest MP Hannah Spencer said: "It has been really difficult. We’re a party that does things differently… we do have internal democracy.

“We try to have healthy debates and discussions, and ultimately, we care really deeply about people in Clacton.

“And our local party have decided, as a whole, all of us, that we won’t be standing a candidate in the by-election."

Yesterday, Nigel Farage resigned as an MP to stand in the upcoming by-election in his Clacton constituency in a

The Reform UK leader, who was first elected as the MP for Clacton in 2024, described the imminent vote in his seaside seat as "a people versus the establishment by-election".

Mr Farage fell under pressure amid revelations about his personal funding ahead of the 2024 General Election, including a £5million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The investigation, which was being conducted by Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg, could even force Mr Farage to hold a by-election if the complaint is eventually upheld.