Nigel Farage will face an extraordinary field of 33 opponents when voters in Clacton return to the polls next month.
A RECORD 34 candidates have been confirmed for the Clacton parliamentary by-election, which will take place on Thursday, August 13.
The contest was triggered after Mr Farage resigned as the constituency’s MP before announcing that he would stand again for Reform UK.
He said the election would allow local voters to judge his conduct following intense scrutiny of his financial backing and two inquiries by Parliament’s standards commissioner.
Mr Farage has denied wrongdoing and maintains that gifts and other support he received were personal and did not need to be registered under parliamentary rules. He has described the by-election as a contest between the public and the political establishment.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are among the larger parties that have declined to field candidates.
Their absence has left political satirist Count Binface and Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox among the best-known names challenging Mr Farage.
The ballot paper will also feature three candidates from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, several representatives of smaller political parties and a large number of independents.
Tendring District Council confirmed the final list after nominations closed on Friday.
The council said the field of 34 is believed to be the largest ever assembled for a UK parliamentary election.
The previous record is understood to have been 26 candidates at the Haltemprice and Howden by-election in July 2008. That election was called after Conservative MP David Davis resigned and stood again to campaign over civil liberties.
Full list of Clacton candidates
The candidates standing on August 13 are:
- Joseph 77, Independent
- Adham Alkhatip, The Forward Party
- Count Binface, Count Binface Party
- Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Tony Cane, Independent
- Woke Trump Carrzee, Independent
- William Stuart James Clouston, Social Democratic Party
- Rees Cowne, Independent
- Glenn Charles Cummings, Independent
- Martin Davies, Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative!
- Andy Erlam, Independent
- Nigel Farage, Reform UK
- Attieh Fard, Independent
- Laurence Fox, The Reclaim Party
- Tony Francis, Independent
- Robin Green, Independent
- Abi Hookway, Independent
- Howling Laud Hope, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Stephen Richard Ingram, Independent
- Amy Morris, Independent
- Derrick Norbert Morris, Independent
- Michael Noel O’Keeffe, Independent
- Martyn OBrien, Independent
- Nick Pelas, Independent
- Ketankumar Pipaliya, UK VOICE safer and stronger UK
- Daniel Pocock, Independent
- James Ransley, Consensus Party Candidate
- Gerry Smith, Independent
- Kai Stephens, British Democrats
- John Stevens, Rejoin EU
- Baron Von Thunderclap, Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- Pamela Walford, Independent
- Marcus White, Everyone is God Party
- Marc Wilkinson, Independent
Almost 80,000 people are eligible to vote across the constituency’s 51 polling stations.
Residents who are not already registered must apply by July 28. The deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on July 29, while applications for proxy votes and free Voter Authority Certificates must be submitted by 5pm on August 5.
Mr Farage first won Clacton for Reform UK at the 2024 general election, receiving 21,225 votes and securing a majority of 8,405 over the Conservatives.
The seat has officially been vacant since July 8 following his resignation.
