We had a Westminster by-election and two council seats up for grabs this week. We begin with the Clacton clown show...
Clacton
Nigel Farage (Ref) 22,239 (63.3%) +17.1%
Count Binface (Ind) 9,455 (26.9%) New
John Stevens (Rejoin EU) 492 (1.4%) New
Tony Francis (Ind) 432 (1.2%) New
Pamela Walford (Ind) 371 1.1%) New
Laurence Fox (Reclaim) 347 (1.0%) New
William Clouston (SDP) 256 (0.7%) New
Nick Pelas (Ind) 202 (0.6%) New
James Ransley (Consensus) 192 (0.6%) New
Stephen Ingram (Ind) 159 (0.5%) New
Kai Stephens (British Democrat) 132 (0.4%) New
Attieh Fard (Ind) 126 (0.4%) New
Derrick Morris (Ind) 100 (0.3%) New
Michael O'Keeffe (Ind) 65 (0.2%) New
Martin Davies (Freedom Alliance) 60 (0.2%) New
Robin Green (Ind) 59 (0.2%) New
Rees Cowne (Ind) 50 (0.1%) New
Adham Alkhatip (Forward) 49 (0.1%) New
Amy Morris (Ind) 46 (0.1%) New
Andy Erlam (Ind) 44 (0.1%) New
Joseph 77 (Ind) 42 (0.1%) New
Nick the Incredible Flying Brick (Loon) 28 (0.1%) New
Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK Voice) 21 (0.1%) New
Martyn O'Brien (Ind) 19 (0.1%) New
Howling Laud Hope (Loon) 18 (0.1%) New
Tony Cane (Ind) 17 (0.1%) New
Daniel Pocock (Ind) 16 (0.1%) New
Baron Von Thunderclap (Loon) 15 (0.04%) New
Abi Hookway (Ind) 14 (0.04%) New
Marc Wilkinson (Ind) 11 (0.03%) New
Marcus White (Everyone is God) 10 (0.03%) New
Gerry Smith (Ind) 9 (0.03%) New
Woke Trump Carrzee (Ind) 8 (0.02%) New
Glenn Cummings (Ind) 7 (0.02%) New
Ref HOLD
Triggered by the resignation of Nigel Farage, which could have been a career-ending calamity. If he'd lost on Thursday to one of the many joke candidates, it would have been a difficult road back for the man whose party has led most of the polls since 2024. Predictably, it was a routine hold and he received more votes than all the other 33 candidates combined. However, his troubles are far from over in relation to the infamous £5million donation. He can still be removed from office if he is found to be in breach of the MPs' code of conduct. If he is suspended from the Commons for at least ten working days he will face automatically face a recall petition and if ten per cent of Clacton voters sign it there will be yet another by-election. However, there are no rules that prevent Farage from standing again, even if he has been thrown out of office in this way.
Thursday's by-election was a record breaking contest for multiple reasons, most notably for the length of the ballot paper. While all the main parties chose not to indulge Farage's ploy, 33 other candidates came forward - an all time record number. All but one of them lost their £500 deposit and in doing so earned the treasury a grand total of £16,000. The left-wing media and certain Labour donors had rallied around the character of 'Count Binface' in order to provide a potential upset, leading to a flurry of jokes and viral memes mocking the Reform leader. Thanks to this publicity, Binface easily saved his deposit, but he did not come anywhere close to unseating Farage.
Other records set by this by-election summed up its farcical nature. The Monster Raving Loony Party stood three candidates, which had never been done before, while its leader 'Howling Laud Hope' surpassed a record set by his predecessor - 'Screaming Lord Sutch' - for the most by-elections contested. The three Loons amassed a paltry 61 votes between them, with Nick the Incredible Flying Brick coming out on top with 28 votes. Third place went to the Remain outfit Rejoin EU, while Laurence Fox finished sixth and was the best placed of the remaining myriad of conservative and libertarian candidates.
Nigel Farage did not attend the count and made up some excuse about police advising him to keep away on the basis of a 'credible threat'. Essex Police denied any such advice was given. Farage clearly did not want to participate in the very bad optics of him standing alongside Loons and and loony bins.
Karl - Ref HOLD ✔
Rich - Ref HOLD ✔
The following council vacancies were also decided on Thursday, incuding a tricky defence for Labour in which they slumped to fifth. Once again, there was no sign of any electoral progress being made by Burnham and his party was propped up from finishing last in both seats by the presence of a couple of lowly independents.
Honiton St Michael's, East Devon District Council
LDm: 727 (45.5%) New
Ref: 401 (25.1%) New
Con: 321 (20.1%) -10.4%
Ind: 74 (4.6%) -16.0%
Lab: 55 (3.4%) -22.4%
Ind: 19 (1.2%) New
LDm GAIN from Lab
Triggered by the resignation of the incumbent, who had quit the Labour party last year and had been sitting as an independent. He had been elected in 2023, becoming the council's first 'trans' member, masquerading as a woman called 'Violet'. No reason was provided for his leaving the party or vacating his council seat, but his departure from Labour came a few weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of what constitutes a woman. With the party leadership having grudgingly accepted the ruling, it appears that 'Violet' spat his dummy out. His exit from the council triggered a fascinating contest in a ward that was split three ways in 2023. One of the Conservative candidates took first place, with Labour in second and the third seat going to a Liberal (not to be confused with the Lib Dems). The Liberals did not stand this time and both of the newcomers surged past Labour and the Tories. However, the Lib Dem's electioneering machine in the West Country proved too much for Reform.
Karl - Ref GAIN ✘
Rich - LDm GAIN ✔
Almondbury, Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council
LDm: 1,749 (43.9%) +14.5%
Ref: 1,078 (27.0%) -10.0%
Con: 528 (13.2%) +4.4%
Grn: 347 (8.7%) -8.0%
Lab: 181 (4.5%) -3.4%
Ind: 103 (2.6%) New
LDm GAIN from Ref
Triggered by the resignation of the Reform incumbent, just 48 days after being elected on May 7. Initially, no reason was given for his departure. The local Labour party pointed to various politically incorrect social media posts, which eventually drew out a statement that the resignation was due to 'significant medical challenges'. Clearly, this was yet another example of Reform's growth spurt outpacing its ability to procure quality candidates. Reform emerged from the May elections as the largest party in Kirklees and they currently run the council as a minority administration, although they have already lost two seats, with a second councillor having gone independent. Yorkshire and the north of England in general has never been fertile ground for the Lib Dems, but they sprung a surprise result on the outskirts of Huddersfield on Thursday. It wasn't even close.
Karl - Ref HOLD ✘
Rich - Ref HOLD ✘
Richey led Karl by six points going into week 11 of their head-to-head. Karl managed to claw a point back last week and that was the best he could hope for again this week. As it turned out, that solitary differential went to Richey, who extends his lead to seven.
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