By-Election
Clacton by-election
East of England · Thursday 13 August 2026 ·
- Called
- Writ moved
- Nominations
- Polling day
- Result
At a glance
- Nigel Farage left his Clacton seat on 8 July 2026 and is no longer an MP; he is standing again in the resulting by-election.
- Polling day is Thursday 13 August 2026. The House approved the moving of the writ on 9 July 2026.
- Fourteen candidates have said they will stand, including Farage (Reform UK), Count Binface, Reclaim's Laurence Fox, the Climate Party, the British Democrats (Kai Stephen), the Forward Party (Adham Alkhatip) and Piers Corbyn.
- Every other main party is boycotting the contest rather than standing against Farage, calling it a stunt to distract from a Commons standards case over a £5m payment.
- Farage won Clacton in 2024 with 46.2%, entering Parliament at his seventh attempt.
Latest updates
- 10 Jul 2026Polling day for the Clacton by-election is confirmed as Thursday 13 August 2026.
- 9 Jul 2026The House approves the moving of the writ for the Clacton by-election. Polling day has not been announced.
- 9 Jul 2026Reform UK says it will move the writ and is proposing polling day on 6 August; Westminster reporting suggests the statutory timetable may not allow a date before 13 August.
- 9 Jul 2026Ollie Granger, a television professional, says he is seeking to stand as an independent candidate.
- 8 Jul 2026Adham Alkhatip is named as the Forward Party candidate for the by-election.
- 8 Jul 2026The British Democrats say they will stand, naming Kai Stephen as their candidate.
- 8 Jul 2026The Climate Party says it will stand, arguing Farage should not get an easy run while the main parties boycott the contest.
- 8 Jul 2026YouGov publishes the first poll on the by-election: Britons oppose it 43% to 24%, and 60% say Farage has not been honest about his finances (national attitudes, not a Clacton vote).
- 8 Jul 2026Farage is appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, formally vacating the Clacton seat. He is no longer an MP; the by-election follows once the writ is moved.
- 7 Jul 2026The Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Restore Britain all say they will boycott the contest, calling it a distraction from the standards case against Farage.
- 7 Jul 2026Reclaim's Laurence Fox, the Rejoin EU Party and the Monster Raving Loony Party say they intend to stand.
- 7 Jul 2026Farage announces at a press conference that he will resign as Clacton MP and stand in the by-election (BBC News).
Result
Winner
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Majority
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Turnout
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- votes
Declared
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PollCheck nowcast
Lead
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Win probability
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As of
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Why this by-election
Triggered by Nigel Farage (Reform UK), who resigned the Clacton seat on 8 July 2026 and is standing again in the by-election.
Key dates
| Writ moved | 9 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Polling day | Thursday 13 August 2026 |
| Polls open | 07:00 - 22:00 |
Candidates
Fourteen candidates have said they will stand so far. Nominations have not opened, so none is confirmed until the statement of persons nominated is published.
CB
Confirmed not standing
These parties are boycotting the by-election rather than standing against Farage, calling it a stunt to distract from a Commons standards case (see below).
Images: Count Binface by Jpdfive, CC BY-SA 4.0; Climate Party logo, public domain; Nigel Farage via UK Parliament.
Why no other party is standing
Farage triggered the by-election by resigning his own seat, amid a Commons standards case over the declaration of a £5m payment he received in 2024. Rather than field candidates against him, every other main party has said it will boycott the contest, framing it as an attempt to distract from that investigation.
The Conservatives' Kemi Badenoch called it a "fake by-election" and an "ego by-election", said Farage should "man up and answer some questions", and said the Tories would instead fight "the real by-election" once the standards process concludes. Labour said it would not stand in "this circus". The Liberal Democrats' Ed Davey called it "Farage's vanity project", urged rival parties to "refuse to give oxygen" to it, and asked the government to block the poll until the standards commissioner reports. Restore Britain's Rupert Lowe said the people of Clacton "do not need a media circus descending on their town... because their MP has made a series of bad decisions". The Greens are also refusing to stand.
With no established challenger, the contest becomes less about who wins than about turnout and the size of Farage's margin against the backdrop of the boycott and the standards case.
Public opinion
The first poll on the by-election is a YouGov snap survey of national attitudes, not a measure of how Clacton will vote. Britons oppose the contest by 43% to 24%, and 60% say Farage has not been honest about his finances, against 12% who say he has. Even among his own 2024 Reform voters, only 40% think he has been honest.
Clacton by-election polls and projections
No opinion poll of the Clacton by-election has been published yet. As soon as constituency polls are released we will list them on this page. Two figures set the baseline in the meantime: Nigel Farage won Clacton for Reform UK at the 2024 general election with 46.2% of the vote, and the PollCheck seat model gives a current projection for the seat.
PollCheck projection for Clacton
Demographic seat model at the 7-poll average, with the change since the 2024 general election. This is a general election projection for Clacton, not a forecast of the by-election, which will have different turnout, candidates and tactical dynamics.
How popular is Nigel Farage in Clacton?
There is no recent poll of Farage's standing in Clacton itself. His personal favourability is tracked nationally, shown below - a Britain-wide figure, not a Clacton one. For local context, he won the seat in 2024 with 46.2% and the PollCheck seat model projects Reform near 60% in Clacton now.
Published constituency polls
2024 General Election
Winner
Reform UK
Majority
18.3%
8,405 votes
Turnout
58.7%
Electorate
78,245
Electoral history since 2010
Winning candidate's vote share at each election in Clacton, with the current PollCheck seat-model projection for a general election. Full results in the table below.
| Election | Winner | Party | Share | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 general election | Nigel Farage | Reform UK | 46.2% | 18.3% | 58.7% |
| 2019 general election | Giles Watling | Conservative | 72.3% | 56.8% | 61.3% |
| 2017 general election | Giles Watling | Conservative | 61.2% | 35.9% | 63.7% |
| 2015 general election | Douglas Carswell | UKIP | 44.4% | 7.8% | 64.1% |
| 2014 by-election | Douglas Carswell | UKIP | 59.7% | 35.1% | 51.0% |
| 2010 general election | Douglas Carswell | Conservative | 53.0% | 28.0% | 64.2% |
Scenario Explorer
Not a poll or projection. An interactive what-if tool - the numbers reflect whatever combination of inputs you choose.
Pick a baseline (the 2024 General Election result or the PollCheck seat model nowcast), then adjust the party share, turnout and tactical voting sliders to see how the 22-ward map changes. Open full page →
Deeper analysis
Background
Clacton covers Clacton-on-Sea, Jaywick, Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze on the Essex coast. Nigel Farage won the seat for Reform UK at the July 2024 general election with 46.2% of the vote and a majority of 8,405 over the Conservatives' Giles Watling, who had held the seat since 2017. The constituency also returned the UK's first elected UKIP MP, Douglas Carswell, at an October 2014 by-election following his defection from the Conservatives. On 7 July 2026 Farage announced at a press conference that he would resign as MP for Clacton and stand in the resulting by-election. Announcing the decision, he said the people of Clacton "should be the judges of my actions" and that he would "fight to win" (BBC News, 7 July 2026). He formally left the seat on 8 July 2026 on being appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, the procedural office an MP takes to resign. The announcement followed press reports that he could face a Commons standards process over the declaration of a £5m payment received in 2024. The House approved the moving of the writ on 9 July 2026 and polling day was confirmed as Thursday 13 August 2026. This page will be updated as key dates, candidates and polling are confirmed.
Frequently asked
When is the Clacton by-election?
The Clacton by-election is on Thursday 13 August 2026. Polls are open from 07:00 to 22:00. The House approved the moving of the writ on 9 July 2026.
Why is there a by-election in Clacton?
Nigel Farage resigned as MP for Clacton, formally leaving the seat on 8 July 2026 when he was appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead (the procedural office an MP takes to resign). This triggered the by-election, in which he is standing again.
Who are the candidates in the Clacton by-election?
Nominations have not opened, so no candidate is confirmed yet. Those who have said they will stand include Nigel Farage (Reform UK), Count Binface, Laurence Fox (Reclaim), the Rejoin EU Party, the Monster Raving Loony Party, the Climate Party, the British Democrats (Kai Stephen), the Forward Party (Adham Alkhatip), Amelia Randall (Balanced Britain Party), and independents Marc Berger, Ollie Granger, Piers Corbyn, Rob Pownall and Luke Worley. The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore Britain are all boycotting the contest rather than standing against Farage, calling it a distraction from a Commons standards case. The full field is confirmed when the statement of persons nominated is published.
What happened at the last election in Clacton?
At the 2024 general election Nigel Farage won Clacton for Reform UK with 46.2% of the vote and a majority of 8,405 votes (18.3 percentage points) over the Conservatives, on a turnout of 58.7%.
Are there any polls for the Clacton by-election?
No opinion poll of the Clacton by-election has been published yet. As constituency polls are released we will list them on this page. For now the reference points are the 2024 general election result (Reform UK 46.2%) and the PollCheck seat model, and national voting-intention polls are tracked on our GB polling page.
Who is favourite to win the Clacton by-election?
No by-election date, full candidate list or by-election poll has been confirmed, so there is no by-election forecast yet. For context, Reform UK's Nigel Farage held the seat at the 2024 general election and the PollCheck model projects Reform UK ahead in Clacton at a general election. By-elections can differ sharply from general elections in turnout and tactical voting, so this is context rather than a prediction.
What does the PollCheck model project for Clacton?
At the current 7-poll average the PollCheck seat model projects, for a general election in Clacton: Reform UK 60.2%, Conservative 17.6%, Green 7.7%, Labour 7.7%, Liberal Democrats 3.6%, Others 3.1%. This is a general election projection, not a forecast of the by-election.
How popular is Nigel Farage in Clacton?
There is no recent poll of Farage's standing in Clacton specifically. His personal favourability is tracked nationally, a Britain-wide figure rather than a Clacton one, where it currently averages about -28 on the PollCheck approval tracker. Locally, he won Clacton with 46.2% in 2024 and the PollCheck model projects Reform near 60% in the seat now.
How to vote
Polls open at 07:00 and close at 22:00 on polling day. To vote in person you must be registered and bring an accepted form of photo ID. Register to vote (gov.uk) · Accepted voter ID (Electoral Commission) · Find your polling station