Beaches, blue skies, and bins: What we found out on the streets of Clacton-on-Sea

Ahead of a contentious by-election forced by Nigel Farage's resignation as MP, the Essex seaside town is weighing up Reform's leader against Count Binface and a vast array of other fringe candidates

Aug 12, 2026

The sun is blazing, the wind is whipping, and dozens of news crews are down from London. The energy in Clacton town centre ahead of a unique by-election on Thursday 13 August — called after Nigel Farage resigned due to the parliamentary standards investigation into his £5m donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harbourne — is febrile.

Fuelled in part by the scorching weather, local residents are friendly and talkative, navigating the crowds of beach-chasing holidaymakers and Farage-hunting journalists. As you’d expect in a former Tory stronghold that has firmly transferred its allegiances to Reform UK, many of these locals are loyal to Farage.

“He’s the best MP we’ve ever had,” says local gold shop owner, Alex Humphreys. “He buys from local shops, we see him in the town. His business ideas are great, and he’s got loads of charisma.” She adds: “All my friends and family who live in Clacton are voting for Farage. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t support him, other than the odd customer.”

The Reform leader’s backing is even stronger in the more affluent towns of Walton-on-the-Naze and Frinton-on-Sea, located a few miles up the coast from Clacton. Inevitably, it’s primarily immigration that draws them to him. “I don’t agree with people coming into our country. There’s too many people around to look after,” says Walton shop owner, Gail Garbett. “If they’re going to work here and put money into the country, it doesn’t matter who comes in. But they are not helping build it. They’re sitting in these hotels reaping the benefits.”

Asked about Farage’s £5m donation, Gail says: “I think that’s just a bit of nastiness to try and pull him down,” she says. “He has to walk around with bodyguards. They went to his daughter [whose property Sky News approached for comment]. That was disgusting.”

A recurring theme across the constituency is a general lack of trust towards politicians. When asked about Farage’s £5m donation, voters shrug their shoulders and suggest it doesn’t matter, because – in their view – all politicians are on the take.

Speaking to people in Clacton ahead of the by-election

Farage’s core base (who comprise at least half of the people we speak to) have accepted the Reform leader’s argument that this is a fight against the establishment. That being said, it’s generally difficult to find people who have changed their mind about Farage. Like Donald Trump in the US, it’s hard to put off his staunchest supporters.

Still, he has plenty of critics. Several people tell us that Reform’s leader is rarely seen in Clacton, and suggest he doesn’t care about the town. Since becoming MP, he has mentioned his constituency just four times in the House of Commons; in the same period, he’s visited the United States on eight separate occasions, according to Open Britain. Among the more apathetic voters, there’s a sense that despite whoever represents them in parliament, little will change in the area.

This feeling is compounded in Jaywick, a seaside village just outside Clacton that’s often cited as England’s most deprived community. Many live in poor quality housing, while job opportunities are scarce. According to the BBC, “two-thirds of the village’s working-age population [are] economically inactive”.

This deprivation is concentrated in the misunderstood area of Brooklands, which although cash-poor, is rich in spirit and community. “I have never, ever lived in a community like this one. I am so proud to be a part of it,” says Ieda Lima Boswell, a Brazilian immigrant and Brooklands resident. “The community embraced us. Look around: this beautiful beach, it’s so quiet, this is paradise. But I didn’t see any candidate coming to Jaywick, particularly Brooklands, until now. Now they come like a swarm, and that’s not right.”

Jaywick was previously the subject of the exploitative 2015 documentary Benefits By The Sea, which was admonished by critics as “poverty porn” for its negative and unbalanced depiction of the village. As a result, it’s hardly surprising that few residents have anything positive to say about mainstream British politicians, Farage included.

“What has he actually done for Clacton? I am yet to come across anyone who can say anything other than ‘he’s a great bloke’” says Jaywick resident Claire Gibson. “I do not buy any of the stuff about the boats because there is no coherent policy behind that. Stopping immigration is not going to make people’s problems go away magically.”

While Claire and others are considering independent local candidates, a decent chunk of the anti-Farage vote has coalesced around the wildest, most famous fringe candidate: Count Binface. He’s gained significant support outside the constituency, with a recent Ipsos poll finding that 33 per cent of British adults prefer him to the Reform leader.

Of course, what matters is what people in Clacton think. Some are so desperate to boot out Farage that they’ve embraced Binface. Others see Jon Harvey (the comedian and TV writer behind the mask) as a more serious candidate than he’s letting on, and are excited about the symbolic power of a joke figure challenging Farage.

“My gut feeling is politics is a serious business, and we shouldn’t be having characters like Count Binface. But comedians speak truth to power, and the country needs someone to speak truth to power,” says Walton resident Lesley Corina.

She adds: “Farage has got no policies, so he keeps poking people with a stick, saying, ‘oh, look, the migrants, the small boats. It is thoroughly unpleasant.” In reference to the Reform leader’s response to the investigation into his £5m donation, she says: “When Angela Rayner did something wrong, she said sorry and went to the appropriate authorities. Farage has thrown his toys out the pram.”

While people like Lesley support Binface, other residents express frustration at the lack of credible options on the table; with Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and the Greens (and even Restore) all refusing to field candidates, the field has been left open for a record 34 individuals to stand.

“Clacton deserves better. If you want someone who will take Clacton seriously, I am here,” says independent candidate Adham Alkhatip, who we repeatedly bump into in town, and who joins 13 others at a local hustings one evening (Binface and Farage are unsurprisingly absent). Here, we meet ex-Tory candidate Attieh Fard, who says her priorities are “safety, security, infrastructure like bus services, and potholes” and others with more extreme messages, including racist far-right activist Kai Stephens of the British Democrats.

Meeting some of the many, many, candidates in the by-election

Many of the candidates standing are either eccentric or downright odd. Most don’t have a convincing, well-communicated offer for Clacton. Crucially, almost all of them live elsewhere (some as far away as Australia), and have limited local knowledge.

Against this landscape, and with such a strong anti-Farage sentiment amongst sections of the constituency, Count Binface could have emerged with a credible offer to local people, and gained a sizeable vote share. Unfortunately, he seemingly has little interest in properly engaging with the community.

Over three days in the Clacton area, we were in constant contact with Binface’s team, attempting to get interview time. He refused. Harvey has been active on the national media circuit, appearing on BBC Breakfast, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, The Rest Is Politics, and various other broadcasts. But he hasn’t attended local hustings, and we didn’t encounter one local resident who had actually met him.

We also heard from some young voters about their thoughts about Farage and Binface

In recent videos posted on social media, he highlights spots of interest in the constituency, and has done a good job of educating people about Clacton outside the town. But these on-camera theatrics – where Harvey films campaign messages from remote beaches and empty car parks far away from onlookers – conceal an unfortunate truth: on the ground, he is not making an effort to engage with local people. While some residents frustrated with the status quo have put their faith in him, this ultimately remains a social media campaign, and the question of how much Harvey actually wants to be Clacton’s MP remains unanswered.

Nigel Farage will win this by-election comfortably, and the parliamentary investigation will resume. If wrongdoing is found, he’ll be forced to fight again, this time against real candidates. Crucially, any such battle will be fought with the reputational damage inflicted by this farcical run against a man dressed as a bin. His approval rating amongst the general public recently hit an all-time-low of -32, and Labour have overtaken his party in most polls, fuelled by the so-called “Burnham bounce”.

You could argue – that simply by claiming victory against this cast of joke candidates and no-hopers – Farage has already lost. But this is more of a consolation for hopeful progressives and the press than it is for Clacton residents. This entire ordeal feels little more than an awfully expensive waste of time. Let’s just hope that the next time residents go to the polls, they will have a better choice of candidates. ■

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