Half of voters think Nigel Farage is fighting ‘Count Binface’ by-election to avoid scrutiny

Nigel Farage is fighting a by-election contest with a bin in order to avoid scrutiny of his finances, just over half of voters say.

Following mounting scrutiny over a £5 million gift, Farage announced that he was resigning as an MP on 7 July.

He said would seek re-election in a by-election, stating that it would be a “people vs establishment” contest and that he wanted the people of Clacton to be the judge of his actions.

However, according to polling by Survation, seen by The Mirror newspaper, 52% of British voters don’t buy his narrative, and think Farage forced a by-election to divert attention away from an investigation into the undeclared £5 million gift he took from Christopher Harborne.

Even a third of Reform voters think he has called the by-election to dodge questions about the donation from the crypto billionaire.

Just a quarter of voters do not think the Reform leader resigned as an MP to avoid scrutiny. 

Farage initially said Harborne had donated the huge sum of money so he could pay for private security for the rest of his life. 

The Reform politician later changed his story and said that he had received the gift for campaigning for Brexit.

Before Farage vacated his seat, triggering a by-election in Clacton, the undeclared gift he received from Harborne was being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Daniel Greenberg.

That investigation is expected to resume after the by-election takes place on 13 August.

If he is re-elected, Farage may also face a parliamentary investigation into undeclared financial support he received from convicted fraudster George Cottrell in the year before he became an MP.

Cottrell provided benefits including security, drivers, staff and accommodation, which Farage also didn’t declare.

Parliamentary rules state that all new MPs must register their current financial interests and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election, within one month of taking up their seat.

With Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the Conservatives and Restore all having refused to stand in Clacton, Farage’s only opponent will be the parody candidate Count Binface.

Veronica Hawking, Campaigns Director at 38 Degrees, told the Mirror that the British public “see this by-election for what it is: an attempt by Nigel Farage to avoid scrutiny and accountability that all our politicians should be held to”. 

Hawking added: “Farage says he represents the people but not many people get £5m gifts from billionaire friends. It’s time to clean up politics for good.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward