Nigel Farage claims he has won Clacton by-election ‘fairly convincingly’ – votes still being counted

Nigel Farage’s decision to stand down as an MP and trigger a by-election in Clacton came as he was facing increasing scrutiny over his finances and a parliamentary investigation.

In early 2024, he received a £5m gift from billionaire cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne.

Farage has argued he did not need to declare the gift because he received it before he was elected as Clacton’s MP in the summer of 2024.

Image source, Reuters

But Labour and other rival parties believe Farage has questions to answer over it.

The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner announced an investigation into whether he broke the Commons code of conduct, which states that new MPs “must register all their current financial interest, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election”.

The rules say “purely personal gifts or benefits” from family or commercial loans would not normally have to be registered, but “if there is any doubt [about the motive of the giver or the gift’s use] the benefit should be registered”.

The process was suspended when he stood down and forced the by-election.

Speaking to the BBC in June, Farage said the £5m was “unconditional gift, I can spend it on cars if I want to”, and went on to say the money was for his personal security.