Reform UK Party leader Nigel Farage (C) celebrates his party’s candidate Sarah Pochin’s victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, north-west England, in the early hours of May 2, 2025.
Oli Scarfe AFP | Getty Images
Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s right-wing party Reform Britain, resigned amid controversy over his finances and was re-elected to parliament in a self-initiated vote last month.
Mr Farage, previously admired by US President Donald Trump and a leading figure in Britain’s campaign to leave the European Union, is facing a parliamentary investigation for failing to declare 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) in donations from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor ahead of the 2024 election.
The investigation had been suspended following his resignation on July 7, but it was relisted as a target on Friday following the election results. Mr Farage said the gift was a personal gift intended to cover security costs.
Reform UK is facing a police investigation in connection with “unacceptable” political party donations, the BBC reports.
Mainstream political parties have announced they will boycott candidates in the by-election after Mr Farage tried to frame it as a referendum on fighting the “establishment”. That is, his main opponent was the costumed serial candidate “Count Binface”, who took second place.
Count Binface of the Count Binface Party speaks to the media during vote counting at The Edge in Wigan, England on June 18, 2026.
Ryan Jenkinson Getty Images
Mr Farage did not attend the vote counting overnight, instead speaking to supporters at an event elsewhere in his constituency.
Clacton, Essex, has a history of supporting Mr Farage’s party. The UK Independence Party, led by Farage, won its first election victory in 2014.
“It just sucks to walk on stage after winning a huge victory and winning so much support for everything you’ve been fighting for, only to have someone put you down and humiliate you,” he told the crowd.
Mr Farage has long been a well-known figure in British politics, but was first elected to parliament in 2024. Reform Britain emerged from Mr Farage’s former Brexit Party in 2021, expanding its platform to take a tougher stance on immigration and visa rules, scrapping climate change targets and cutting some taxes.
As Britain’s two main parties, Labor and the Conservatives, struggle in the polls, the party has increased its support and given momentum to alternative parties such as the Greens.
The ruling Labor party suffered a poor showing in local elections in May, but opinion polls show its popularity has increased since Andy Burnham became prime minister in July following the ouster of Keir Starmer.
