Farage sensationally quits as Clacton MP and says he's 'done nothing wrong' in row over finances
Nigel Farage sensationally quit as MP for Clacton today and vowed to fight a "people versus establishment" by-election amid a row over his finances. Speaking at Reform UK headquarters, he said standards investigations by the parliamentary authorities are “now being used as a political tool” as he insisted he has "done nothing wrong" and has not "broken the law in any way at all."He accused the media of harassment and vowed to fight a “people versus the establishment” by-election as he announced he is standing down as an MP.In a video statement, he said: “I thought about it hard and I have decided today I will resign as a Member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a by-election, which should happen, I hope, in short order."But in a bid to clear his name amid the funding row, he announced he would contest for the Clacton seat again.“It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election,” he said.Farage added: “Now I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire Establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election."I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started, and I would say this to you, the voters of Clacton, if I win, you win, because if I lose, they win, and we will never with the two old parties get the type of fundamental change that we need to fix broken Britain.”Read more: Nigel Farage teases mystery statement about his 'future in public life' amid growing row over his financesRead more: Labour calls for elections watchdog to investigate Nigel Farage's finances, as Reform leader loses temper in fiery exchange with reporter
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has resigned as an MP.
Picture:
Alamy
He said an issue with his daughter was "the final straw" for him to quit, referring to the allegations the broadcaster knocked on his door and spoke to her. "Enough is enough," he declared. "I thought over the weekend, what shall I do? I could go out and try and make some real big money. I could go to the USA, where I’ve got plenty of offers. And then I thought, why should I be judged today, or in history in the future, by Sky News and their ilk," Farage added.He said: "I will not tolerate intimidation of my family. I will not tolerate the location of where they live being revealed.“I will not tolerate any of my family being endangered because of what I choose to do in public life, so yes, you can ask, am I angry? Well, I’ve never been angrier in my life.”He later said he is "the most physically and verbally attacked politician of all time."Mr Farage added: 'But let me promise you, you only know about a fraction of times I have been assaulted."These are the kind of things I have had to put up with over the last years and over the last years it has got worse"He said he has received daily online death threats and accused the police of not taking notice. It comes as the Reform leader faces calls for an investigation following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected.The party leader pointed to electoral gains it made in May and said: “It seems to me that the establishment have now decided that they can’t beat us fairly, so they’ve chosen to use foul means.“Let me be absolutely clear, after the furore and the media pile-on, well, not just the media, the other political parties too – let me be absolutely clear – I have done nothing wrong.“I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money, and you know, for the first two years of being an MP, my personal MP expenses are zero, not of course that you’ll read about that in mainstream media.”Farage has also said Reform has offered to cover the cost of the by-election. He wrote on X after his speech: "I have spoken to the CEO of Tendring District Council. Reform has offered to cover the cost of the by-election. I will be writing to Rachel Reeves later today with the same message. "Given that we asked for this by-election in the first place, it’s only right that we pay for it."Reacting to Farage's statement, Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe called the by-election a distraction from the funding row and slammed it as a "mockery of our entire democratic process."
He wrote on X: "Farage has proven one thing today and one thing only - everything that he does is about one person. Nigel Farage. "The people of Clacton do not need a media circus descending on their town over a busy tourist season because their MP has made a series of bad decisions. He should have declared that five million pounds. He knows it. We all know it. Now he is going to weaponise a by-election to distract from that. This is going to cost the taxpayer a fortune. "A quarter of a million pounds. Eye-watering sums of money. Think about what that money could do for the people of Clacton. Will Farage fund it out of his own pocket? Because he bloody well should. "This is making a mockery of our entire democratic process. He made bad decision after bad decision, and concealed money in a way that has spectacularly backfired. A by-election will not deflect from that fact, and nor should it. I will be making an announcement later today about Restore Britain’s plans for the Clacton by-election."Green Party leader Zack Polanski called Farage "a grifter", adding that "Reform are literally part of the establishment.""He always has been and he's continuing to grift. He knew he was heading towards a byelection anyway so has pulled the trigger early. The people Vs the establishment?! Reform are literally part of the establishment," he wrote on X.Labour's Lucy Powell has reminded Farage that "a parliamentary standards inquiry continues whether you’re in the House or not".
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for Nigel Farage to fund the Clacton by-election himself.He said: “Nigel Farage has spent his whole life dodging responsibility for his actions. This new stunt is his latest attempt to escape consequences for his biggest grift. We won’t let him.“We have just sat through a self-obsessed diatribe delivered by a Temu Trump who seems to think he is sat in the Oval Office.“He has done nothing for his constituents and instead focused on lining his own pockets. The people of Clacton deserve better than a rubbish Trump tribute act.“It would be a crime to waste taxpayers’ hard-earned cash on this Farage vanity project. He should pay for it himself out of the millions he’s grifted.”
