A second by-election in Nigel Farage’s Clacton constituency could take place before Christmas amid claims that a parliamentary standards investigation into whether he should have declared a £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne is nearing its conclusion.
The Conservative Party expects to select its candidate for the seat by the end of the month as it prepares for the possibility of a by-election before Christmas. One senior party source said: “We will be ready.”
Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, is expected to send his findings to the Commons Committee of Standards within days after Parliament returns next week, according to sources close to the inquiry.
“We are refreshing our inboxes,” said one source, who expects to receive advance notice when the inquiry concludes.
Farage interviewed by watchdog
The development follows reports that Farage was interviewed by the commissioner last month. According to The Sunday Times, the Reform UK leader spent about 30 minutes answering questions about the money. Farage has maintained that the gift was intended to fund his personal security. He and Harborne both say they have done nothing wrong.
An interview with an MP under investigation would normally suggest that an inquiry is nearing its conclusion, although Reform UK is not believed to have been told that the report has been completed.
MPs under investigation are usually notified before the process formally ends.
If Greenberg finds that Farage committed a serious breach of the rules, the case will be referred to the Committee of Standards, which is made up of MPs and lay members. The committee can seek further evidence before either recommending a sanction or rejecting the commissioner’s findings.
If it recommends a suspension of more than 10 sitting days and the Commons approves it, Farage could face a recall petition, potentially triggering another by-election in Clacton.
The prospect of a second contest comes just months after Farage won a by-election in Clacton in August, after resigning his seat amid scrutiny over his financial affairs.
The contest was boycotted by all the major Westminster parties, with Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens deciding not to field candidates. Farage won with 22,239 votes, or 63.3 per cent of those cast, while his nearest challenger was the novelty candidate Count Binface, who took 9,455 votes, or 26.9 per cent.
This time, however, the major parties are expected to field candidates, setting up a markedly different contest.
It is understood that Labour is considering whether to field a “paper candidate” – someone whose primary purpose would be to ensure the party has a presence on the ballot paper rather than to mount a fully resourced campaign to win the seat.
Such a move would leave the Conservatives with a clearer run at the seat.
Farage under investigation
Farage has been under investigation shortly after it was reported in April that Harborne had given him £5m before the 2024 general election.
The Reform leader initially said the money was an unconditional personal gift intended to help pay for his security.
He argued that he had not yet returned to Parliament when he received it and therefore did not have to declare it. He later described the money as a “reward” for his 27 years of campaigning for Brexit, while maintaining that it was an unconditional gift that he could spend as he wished.
However, parliamentary rules require new MPs to register their current financial interests and any registrable benefits, other than earnings, received in the 12 months before their election.
These must normally be registered within one month of taking office. Some personal gifts are exempt if they could not reasonably be thought to be related to an MP’s membership of the House or their parliamentary or political activities.
The rules state that both the possible motive of the giver and how the gift is to be used should be considered, and that if there is any doubt, the benefit should be registered.
The standards inquiry comes as a separate internal Reform UK investigation has concluded that the party did not breach electoral law after senior officials were recorded by an undercover journalist discussing a potential route to securing foreign donations.
Farage’s senior aide, Dan Jukes, and the party’s head of policy, James Orr, both stood down pending the outcome of that inquiry. It found that neither man had done anything that constituted a breach of the law.
The undercover filming, carried out by Verbatim Investigations and broadcast by Channel 4 News, appeared to show the pair discussing a way around electoral law to secure foreign donations for the party, including one that would have totalled £500,000.
The Metropolitan Police is conducting a separate criminal investigation into Reform UK over allegations that it breached foreign funding laws. It is understood that the party will wait for the police investigation to conclude before deciding the futures of Jukes and Orr.
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