The moment that Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform Party announced that he will resign as MP for Clacton and stand in the subsequent by-election, the legacy Political Establishment and their media declared that this resignation was a desperate gimmick by a discredited politician. The mainstream political parties – Labour, the Tories, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens stated that they will not run a candidate in the by-election. In this way they hoped to turn the by-election into a non-event, whose outcome would prove to be irrelevant.
There were several reasons why the Uniparty decided to boycott the Clacton by-election. First of all, they knew that they would be beaten by Reform and they wanted to prevent Farage from achieving a triumphant result. Secondly, they hoped that their boycott would undermine the legitimacy of this by-election. In this way the outcome of this election would prove to be not only irrelevant but also a source of embarrassment for Farage.
However, the political establishment and their media could not entirely ignore the Clacton by-election. And although they could not openly stand candidates, they found a proxy who could be used to discredit the election.
The proxy candidate of the mainstream media of the Uniparty turned out to be Count Binface. Binface – who is a veteran serial joke candidate- suddenly found himself in the media limelight. Politico described Binface as a ‘satirical candidate who sports a silver cape, wears a rubbish receptacle on his head, and claims to be from outer space’[i]. But there was nothing satirical about the role that the media assigned to Binface. By constantly focusing on Binface and treating him as Farage’s main opponent, the media sought to turn the whole event into one big joke.
After a couple of weeks of dining out on Binface and numerous other joke candidates who felt encouraged to join the fray it became evident that he was no longer depicted as an old-fashioned joke candidate. Egged on by the media Binface became the willing accomplice of the Uniparty and its media. For its part the media began to treat him increasingly seriously. It began to hint that Binface was gaining ground amongst the electorate and was now in a position to give Farage a hard time.
Increasingly the election was billed as Farage vs Binface. A headline in The New York Times read, ‘What to Know About Today’s U.K. Special Election: Farage vs. Binface’[ii]. The New York Times also ran a video under the by-line asking ‘Why is Nigel Farage Running Against a ‘Thrash can’.[iii] For its part The Independent reported on the day of the by-election that ‘Nigel Farage casts vote as polls open in battle with Count Binface to reclaim his seat’[iv]. The narrative representing Binface as the political equivalent of Farage sought to diminish the moral standing of the latter.
During the days leading up to the by-election the tone of the media changed and miraculously Binface was transformed from a joke candidate to a man who could teach Nigel Farage a lesson. The Standard ran with the headline; ‘Nigel Farage v Count Binface: Reform leader faces ‘trashing’ unless he pulls off huge Clacton by-election win’[v]. Reading between the lines it was evident that the author of this article was determined to show that no matter what happened Farage was the real loser. This article went so far as to invest hope in Count Binface emerging as the true victor in this by-election. It stated:
‘By ramping up his campaign to maximum volume, it could pick up momentum and possibly persuade a significant number of normally Tory, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat voters to back him.
Theoretically, it is possible for Count Binface to scoop up a huge chunk of the anti-Farage vote and to win’.
Binface had clearly emerged as the saviour of the old legacy political Establishment. The media even attempted to portray Binface as more popular among the voters of Britain than Farage. The Independent wrote that ‘Britain backs Count Binface to beat Nigel Farage in Clacton by-election, poll shows’[vi]. A comment piece in The Independent noted that ‘Clacton could do a lot worse than having Count Binface as an MP’[vii].
As far as the Uniparty opponents of Reform were concerned Binface ceased to be a joke candidate the minute he announced his candidacy in the by-election. Through framing the by-election as a contest between Binface and Farage they sought to represent the leader of the Reform Party as possessing the moral status of his opponent.
Historically joke candidates play to the cynicism, indifference and apathy of sections of the electorate. By their very presence they communicate the idea that the democratic political process does not deserve to be taken too seriously. That the mainstream parties opted to hide behind Binface serves as testimony to their political cowardice. It should be remembered that by their very public withdrawal they bear responsibility for turning Clacton into an unserious melodrama.
Despite an organised media campaign against him, in the end Farage had the last laugh. He came away with 63 per cent of the vote and was delighted to note that there increase in the number of people who voted for him previously.
[i] https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-paints-himself-as-local-hero-in-fight-for-clacton/
[ii] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/world/europe/farage-binface-uk-byelection-clacton.html
[iii] https://www.nytimes.com/video/watch
[iv] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/clacton-by-election-live-updates-nigel-farage-count-binface-b3031788.html
[v] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage-count-binface-clacton-byelection-thursday-b1292884.html
[vi] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/count-binface-nigel-farage-clacton-by-election-poll-b3012680.html
[vii] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/count-binface-clacton-by-election-nigel-farage-b3032426.html .