Nigel Farage resigns as MP for Clacton, triggering by-election which he says he will stand in

Summary

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Nigel Farage says he will resign as an MP for Clacton, triggering a by-election which he will stand in
"This will be a people versus the establishment by-election," he says in a video statement, adding "the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions"
It comes amid a row over his financial support, after the Sunday Times reported he had not declared benefits, including staff and security, received from long-time ally George Cottrell - Farage says he has done "nothing wrong"
The Reform UK leader has also faced questions about a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne in early 2024 which he did not register - he said the money was for his personal security
Henry Zeffman analysis: If Farage were to win this by-election, investigations into him would resume - that is what Parliament's rules are
The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Restore Britain say they won't stand in the Clacton by-election
The contest could cost £230,000, says BBC Verify. Farage says Reform has offered to cover the cost - but it's not clear if that would be allowed under election rules

Live Reporting

Edited by Ben Hatton and Craig Hoyle

We don't know what Farage will say, but the context is clearpublished at 13:57 BST 7 July
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

It is unclear what Farage will say, and that is likely to be the case until he starts speaking.
The context, though, is clear — months of scrutiny, which has intensified in recent days, about gifts and support he received in the year before becoming an MP in 2024.
The parliamentary standards watchdog is investigating whether Farage should have declared a £5 million gift he received from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
After a Sunday Times investigation, that could be expanded to assess whether he should have declared support provided by George Cottrell, who was jailed for fraud in the US in 2017.
Farage has consistently denied wrongdoing in both cases, arguing that what he received from both men was unrelated to his political activity with Reform.
In recent weeks Farage has displayed extreme displeasure at facing questions from the media about these cases, as well as the manner in which he has been asked to comment.
Farage yesterday accused Sky News of harassing familypublished at 13:45 BST 7 July

Image source, PA Media
Yesterday, Nigel Farage accused Sky News of harassing his family during its coverage of his finances.
The Reform UK leader was returning from Independence Day celebrations in the US when a reporter for the outlet asked if it had been a mistake not to declare gifts from George Cottrell.
Farage did not directly answer the question, instead telling the reporter that if Sky News "harass my family any more" there would be "serious consequences".
In a subsequent broadcast, the channel said it "has not contacted anyone from Nigel Farage's family about this story" - which Farage later described on X as an "outright lie".
"They hounded my daughter at home, just days after The Times published where my family live," he wrote on X Monday.
"Despicable behaviour from the media."

Farage still under scrutiny for £5m donationpublished at 13:41 BST 7 July

The George Cottrell allegations (see our previous post) are not the only questions Nigel Farage is facing about his finances.
Since May, he has been under investigation by Parliament's standards commissioner for not declaring a £5m gift he received from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor, before his election.
Farage has argued the gift was "personal", and for his security. He has said he did not need to declare it because he received it before he was elected as Clacton MP, and it was not political.
Asked by BBC Breakfast last month how much of the £5m he had spent on security, he said: "No, I'm not going to answer that deliberately, wilfully.
"It's not your business at the BBC to put me in danger therefore I will not answer it."
Media caption,
Watch: Farage quizzed over a £5m gift from a billionaire Reform UK donor
Farage accused of not declaring benefits from long-time ally and fraudsterpublished at 13:33 BST 7 July

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Nigel Farage with long-time ally George Cottrell at a European Parliament session in January 2020
Nigel Farage is facing various questions about his finances.
The latest came at the weekend, when the Sunday Times accused him of not properly declaring support from George Cottrell - a long-time ally who was jailed for fraud in the US in 2017.
The newspaper reported that Cottrell's support included paying for Farage's security, and staff who worked on his social media content, in the year before his election.
Farage also reportedly used a property near Buckingham Palace rented by Cottrell.
The Reform UK leader insists he has "followed the rules", claims he is the victim of an "establishment hit job", and says he is considering legal action against the paper.
Farage has been referred to the parliamentary standards commissioner by Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde.
Under parliamentary rules, new MPs must declare financial interests and "registrable benefits" received in the 12 months before their election.
The guidelines say purely personal gifts or benefits do not need to be registered.
When he became an MP, Farage registered a £9,253 trip to Belgium in April 2024 donated by Cottrell, and later added a £15,276 donation from Cottrell for a US domestic flight he provided in December 2024.
No other support from Cottrell is listed in the Register of Members' Financial Interests., external

For a man who could be PM, this is what scrutiny looks likepublished at 13:22 BST 7 July
Chris Mason
Political editor

Once again, the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is in the news and at the heart of the headlines are power, transparency and money.
Vast amounts of money, in the view of his critics far too little transparency, and a party that opinion polls suggest is the favourite to win power at the next general election.
The continuing swirl of stories about Farage has put him on the back foot – he has been much less visible in front of the cameras and has come across as uncomfortable, even irritable, at the questions thrown his way as a result.
His argument is none of this relates to taxpayers' money and it collectively amounts to continuing attempts to undermine both him and Reform UK.
But it does relate to huge quantities of money and big questions about what that money can buy – particularly given the connections to cryptocurrency and Farage's long standing desire to liberalise the UK's approach to digital currencies.
The Reform leader has long argued his views on crypto are long standing and gifts buy nothing in terms of influence.
In truth, all of this is what scrutiny looks like when you are a candidate for prime minister, as Nigel Farage is.
And for the first time in a long time, Reform's political rivals spot a party encountering turbulence.
- Read Chris Mason's full piece here
Farage due to make statement on 'future in public life'published at 13:15 BST 7 July

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says he will make a statement at 14:00 BST on his "future in public life", after questions about his finances.
This weekend, a report in the Sunday Times accused him of receiving undeclared benefits, including staff and security, from George Cottrell - a key ally who admitted wire fraud in the US and was jailed in 2017.
Farage denies wrongdoing and says he is considering legal action against the paper. We'll have more details in upcoming posts.
Farage has also been under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner since May for not disclosing a £5m gift from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne, received before his election as MP. We'll bring you more on that row soon.
Stay with us for Farage's statement - and all the reaction and analysis.