Why are no other parties putting forward candidates in the Clacton by election?

[minmooch]

I understand that they do not want to participate in the Farage political stunt but if no one but Farage and Bin Face stand surely no one will vote in Bin Face? Then Farage gets back in? If only 2 people turn out to vote is that enough to get either one in?

I have tried to read what will happen but it just seems to be about not participating in this stunt with no explanation as to what happens then.

By not participating in his stunt he achieves nothing. Assuming he gets back in the investigation can continue, as it should.

Maybe it’s to get a unity candidate in Binface?

Tbh I think he’s in with a chance - look at Boaty McBoatface. And voters in Clacton have shown - by voting for Farage - that they are fine with upsetting the apple cart.

As far as I know, he is a sketch writer and politically well informed. He’s said he would actually move to Clacton if he wins.

The Mail has turned against Farage, so has the Spectactor. They are pissed off with him.

I'm not sure I'm convinced either.

I think it's more complex. I do think he would win Clacton regardless, so in some ways it's true parties are running scared.

But, the much of rest of the country is enjoying this, and his overall popularity was already declining. Whilst he will likely win Clacton, the farce could harm him (and Reform) nationally.

In a joyous twist, if everyone who didn't vote Farage last time voted Binface, he could actually lose, which wouldn't have happened with a full suite of candidates.

If he gets back in the investigation into his donations carries on.

it’s expected to find that he broke rules and so they are expecting another by election where Farage is not allowed to stand (because he broke the rules) in a matter of months.

It’s ignoring a toddler’s tantrum and refusing to give his stunt legitimacy. Also, campaigning in a by-election takes a lot of effort and money plus campaigners on the ground. If Farage’s parliamentary standards investigation - which will continue if he’s re-elected - leads to a recall petition, then there could be a second by-election further down the line. The other parties are likely reserving their resources for that one.

Even if the other parties stood, Farage has a decent majority and would probably be reflected, so it would be a waste of their time right now and just play into his narrative.

It’s a clever move by the main parties not to field other candidates as it amplifies the stupidly and self-serving stunt that Farage is trying to pull.

The current investigation into his donations and gifts stops when he is no longer an MP, so all that noise goes away.

He gets re-elected with no opposition so the investigation is resumed. If he is found to be in breach of the rules then the consequence is suspension from parliament. A suspension from parliament will trigger a by-election.

So the other parties are letting him show his true colours with his utter disregard for our rules and processes and in the meantime he’d be directly responsible for the cost of 2 by-elections at £250-300k each.

The addition of Binface to this situation is delicious. NF would be forced to spend the summer ‘arguing with a bin’ and in fact there’s a fair chance Binface could steal it from under him, saving the public purse the cost of the second by-election.

There are now actually 7 people running at the last count (ha - count!). Apart from Binface and Frogface, there's Laurence Fox for his very own Reclaim Party - Thinface? There's Kai Stephens for the British Democrats - I'd suggest Babyface. And the Monster Raving Looneys have said they'll field someone - Madface? And a couple of others.
To say it's a farce is frankly to elevate it. It's more of a binfire - see? 😂

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Clacton_by-election

Farage is doing what Trump does. As soon as an investigation gets too close to home he creates a distraction. I’m actually really proud of all the major parties for not playing his game. If he gets reelected the investigation continues into the 5million. If he doesn’t get re elected he’s done as a politician.
By elections cost money - why should the others parties pay for his political stunt?

There are all sorts of wins for everyone else if the main parties don’t contest

bringing him back under the purview of the scrutiny committee

no ability for him to say the ‘establishment’ (huh, he IS the establishment) has used its might against him, the little-guy-man-in-the-street (yeah, right)

he will be forced to do at least the very minimal work he needs to as an MP for his constituents, whom he is using for his own gain right now

and not least demonstrating that this was just a stunt designed to deflect from his very real and increasingly exposed wrongdoings

But doesn't this all just reinforce the narrative for his base that "the Establishment" is against them?

I’m not sure that’s right.

If he gets suspended for a set amount of time, there’s an option for the constituency to call for a by election through a recall petition. It’s not automatic. And he would be allowed to stand.

I think Farage is assuming that the constituents won’t bother signing a recall petition because they’ll be fed up of by elections.

I’m not sure how much you can claim that this demonstrates that the establishment is against you when they aren’t standing against you.

Farage got less than 50% of the votes last time so BinFace could win.

That would be the most British thing ever and I love it!!

But what's with all these MPs resigning who aren't dead/ aren't stepping down in scandal. It needs to stop frankly!

We're in a short attention span, instant gratification society. There's no wait-and-see any more. This is why we get a new Prime Minister every five minutes.

This is interesting. Could you let me know why you think they've turned on Farage and if there was some specific activity that caused it? I did try to Google but couldn't find something specific so I hope you don't mind sharing. This gives me hope.

It has nothing to do with “running scared” although I expect this Reform talking point will be repeated blindly across social media, as it’s catnip to Reform voters.

Knowing an area is unlikely to win you a seat, isn’t the same as being afraid to fight a by-election. They all put up candidates in Makersfield even though there was very little chance of winning in the Reform/Labour two horse race.

Farage is trying to flout the rules of Parliament. If he is able to do this by manipulating the system, that’s a dangerous precedent to set. I’d have been more concerned if parties had decided to participate in this stunt. For once, they are united and that’s a good thing.

Agree with all this

Because it's a stunt to distract from Farage's dodgy financial backers?

This is quite the right wing split isn’t it?!

Hopefully means that Binface has more chance if the right are splitting their votes between Farage, Lawrence and the 12 year old Reclaim candidate!

Love it !

Now we have a situation like Italian politics where loads of independents put themselves up for election.

What Clacton is missing is a Free Love Party (like the one in Italy founded by Mona Pozzi) maybe Bonnie Blue would like to stand ?

To complete a Full House (or full bin) we need a Pensioners Party.

I could go on, but I won't.....🙃

If Binface successfully campaigns as 'the people' against 'the establishment' which is Farage, it will shut down that line. It is not hard to portray NFas a member of the establishment, because his entire life has been spent there.

I think his base are beginning to see through him. Remember we're not America. Brits don't like people taking the piss or having the wool pulled over their eyes. That £5 million donation is not going away. Most of his base won't even know about it because their sources of news will be keeping it quiet, rather than front page news.

Because they are a bunch of bullies determined to bring down Nigel Farage.

The voters of Clacton are no different from the voters of Makerfield or Denton and Gorton. They pay their taxes and have the right to be offered the choice of having a Reform, Labour or Conservative MP the same as any other area.

Clacton is actually a real place, with real people and not a ‘joke’ like some would like to presume. Suggesting a series of idiotic representatives stand against Reform does not make Farage look ridiculous - it makes the political establishment look undemocratic, disrespectful, snobbish and out of touch.