UK by-election sees record 34 candidates as Farage seeks return

Count Binface, a man with a bin on his head, is currently the Reform UK leader’s top competition.Nigel Farage will face a record field of 33 opponents as he seeks to regain his parliamentary seat in a by-election triggered by his resignation earlier this month.Tendring District Council, which is administering the vote in Clacton, said the field of 34 candidates is believed to be the largest ever for a United Kingdom parliamentary election. Most constituency contests feature only a handful of candidates.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why has UK Reform’s Nigel Farage resigned as MP? What happens next?list 2 of 3‘Not Nigel Farage’: Who is Count Binface, contesting as MP for Clacton, UK?list 3 of 3Police probe donations to Britain’s far-right Reform partyend of listFarage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, resigned as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton after weeks of controversy over gifts and donations that he had not initially declared under parliamentary rules.The scrutiny intensified after it emerged in June that Farage had received a five-million-pound ($6.7m) gift from a billionaire cryptocurrency investor. Questions were later raised about other gifts and donations he had received, including allegations that one donor was a convicted fraudster.Farage has denied wrongdoing and says he is standing again so voters can decide whether he should continue to represent them in parliament.Britain’s main political parties are not contesting the by-election, describing it as a “media circus”. That has left the contest largely to smaller parties, independent candidates and satirical campaigners.Among the best-known challengers is comedian Jon Harvey, standing as Count Binface, a novelty candidate who campaigns wearing a metal bin on his head. He previously ran against former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and has twice contested London’s mayoral election.