Farage received 22,230 votes. The runner-up, a comedian who calls himself Count Binface, dressed as a garbage can and known for his political satire, received 9,455 votes.
Farage himself was not present when the votes were counted on Friday morning. A spokesman for his party Reform UK told the BBC that police had advised him not to be there due to a “credible threat.” However, according to media reports, the police deny this.
Reform UK has also cancelled a speech that Nigel Farage was due to give in Clacton on Friday morning.
Record number of wild animals
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage resigned as an MP in early July - a move that has been widely questioned and criticized. It has been called a stunt and described as an attempt to divert public attention from the parliamentary investigations into multi-million-pound donations that are ongoing against him.
No one from the major parties Labour, the Tories, Liberal Democrats, Green Party or Restore Britain has stood in the by-election. Instead, the opposition has consisted of a record number of political satirists, comedians or representatives of smaller parties: more than 30 candidates stood, according to the BBC.
Driving force behind Brexit
Farage was a driving force behind Britain's exit from the EU and has been touted as a possible future prime minister. His far-right Reform UK party has often topped opinion polls or been in second place recently.
