Vote Count Binface

The choice before Clacton

Count Binface — a polished metal bin for a helmet, black space armour — holding a microphone on stage — The candidate. Glee Club, Birmingham, 2024. Photo: Jpdfive, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

On 7 July 2026, Nigel Farage announced his resignation as MP for Clacton — formally vacating the seat the next day — to trigger a by-election in which he is standing again for Reform UK.^8,18 His resignation followed scrutiny of his personal finances, including a £5 million gift from the Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' inquiry into whether failing to declare it broke Commons rules was suspended by his resignation — it resumes if he wins and returns to the Commons.¹⁷ Mr Farage says he wants the voters of Clacton, rather than the press or parliamentary authorities, to decide.¹²

Nominations closed on 17 July, and it is now official: a record 34 candidates are on the ballot — the largest field ever at a UK parliamentary election, beating the 26 who stood at Haltemprice & Howden in 2008.^21,23,24,25 The major-party boycott held: no Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green or Restore Britain candidate stands.^21,24 Among the 34: Count Binface — whom ITV News calls "the highest-profile opponent" to the Reform UK leader.^17,18 Polling day is Thursday 13 August 2026, 7am to 10pm.²¹

Election of a Member of Parliament for the Clacton Constituency Vote for one candidate only — illustrative; the headline contest among the record 34 officially nominated candidates²¹

BINFACE, Count Count Binface Party

FARAGE, Nigel Paul Reform UK

The Statement of Persons Nominated was published on 17 July by acting returning officer Ian Davidson. Binface's entry, verbatim: "BINFACE, Count — address in the constituency of Sussex Weald — Count Binface Party." His ten nominators came through.²¹

See the full ballot — all 34 candidates, the key dates, and how to vote →

Campaign log (latest transmissions)

From the bin and from the wire, curated by hand from primary sources — last updated 2 August 2026. The full log runs back to the day the seat fell vacant.

Count Binface to The i Paper1 August

The i Paper spends time with the Count in Clacton and concludes he is "more serious than you think". His first act as an MP, he reveals, would be to enlarge the door aperture of the House of Commons — the outfit makes him eight feet tall, and he would bang his head entering the chamber.³⁵
Read at The i Paper →
Count Binface @CountBinface · X27 July

The manifesto lands. "Here it is. My manifesto for the 2026 Clacton By-Election. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Join me, clean up Clacton and let's make 13th August Bin Day!" Twenty pledges: £1.99 bus fares, Parliament relocated to Weeley, a Pluto referendum, Eurovision for Clacton in 2028 — and a pointed ban on £5 million crypto gifts. Read all twenty, annotated →^30,31
View the post on X →
WIRE15 July

PMQs, and the bin goes to Westminster. Asked by Kemi Badenoch whether the country deserves a televised Farage–Binface debate, Keir Starmer tells the Commons at his final PMQs: "My advice to everyone is put your vote in the bin." Ed Davey goes further: "I cannot back joke figures with ridiculous policies, which is why I'm supporting Count Binface."^33,34
Read at RTÉ News →

Read the full campaign log — back to the day the writ dropped →

P100 BINFAX SUN 02 AUG 2026

KNOW YOUR CANDIDATE

ORIGIN Intergalactic space warrior. Leader of the Recyclons, planet Sigma IX. On Earth since 2017.¹
PARTY Count Binface Party. Registered with the Electoral Commission since 18 March 2021 (ref PP12685).⁵
FORM Has stood against three sitting Prime Ministers in their own seats: May (2017), Johnson (2019), Sunak (2024).^3,4
RECORD 92,896 total votes for London Mayor 2021 (24,775 first preferences) — 9th of 20, ahead of UKIP.^1,3
BALLOT Officially nominated 17 Jul — one of a RECORD 34 candidates, the biggest field in UK parliamentary history.^21,24
POLL Ipsos: 33% of Britons would prefer a Binface win. Farage: 21%.²⁶
PLATFORM The 20-pledge Clacton manifesto, published 27 Jul — from 99p Flakes to Parliament in Weeley. See P101.^30,31
DATES Polls open 07:00–22:00 on Thu 13 Aug. Registration closed 28 Jul. Proxy votes and free voter ID by 5pm, 5 Aug. Bring photo ID.^21,22
WHY CEEFAX STYLE? Because bringing back Ceefax has been on his manifesto since 2017. Obviously.³

101 MANIFESTO 102 BALLOT 103 LOG 104 LORE 105 SOURCES

The platform

On 27 July, the wait ended: the full Clacton manifesto landed — twenty numbered pledges, from a £1.99 bus-fare cap to moving Parliament to the village of Weeley.^30,31

Read the full manifesto — all 20 pledges, annotated →

It followed the five-point Clacton pledge card of 16 July — his most pointed work yet.²⁷

The Clacton Pledge CardIssued 16 July 2026²⁷

“I will hold weekly constituency surgeries.”
“I will answer all letters and emails within three days.”
“For every day I spend overseas, I will spend ten in Clacton.”
“Any outside earnings will be donated to Clacton charities.”
“On a postcode lottery basis, I will help one family per week put their bins out.”

Five pledges, every one of them a constituency-service promise an ordinary MP could simply… make. Alastair Campbell, sharing the card, observed that they are designed to exploit Mr Farage’s weaknesses.²⁷

And these are the signature pledges of the wider Binface programme, as published and reported over the years.

At least one affordable house

The serious one — repeated for Clacton in his declaration statement. Standing behind it since his mayoral runs.^10,11

GENUINELY SERIOUS

Bring back Ceefax

On the books since 2017. The longest-running pledge in modern satirical politics.³

SIGNATURE

Croissants capped at £1.10

Analysed at length on BBC Radio 4’s More or Less. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose now price at £1.10.¹⁴

BASICALLY ACHIEVED

Tie ministers’ pay to nurses’ pay

For the next 100 years. If it’s good enough for the people who run the wards…³

GENUINELY SERIOUS

Justice for the hand dryer

Relocation of the perilously placed dryer at the Crown & Treaty, Uxbridge. Treaty already signed with the pub.²

SIGNATURE

Nationalise Adele

Now carried formally into the Clacton manifesto, pledge 20: “I’ve got it covered.”^11,31

IN THE MANIFESTO

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Bridge

Rename London Bridge after Phoebe Waller-Bridge (and Hammersmith Bridge after Wayne Bridge). From the 2024 mayoral manifesto.¹⁵

MAYORAL ERA

Thames Water bosses: in the Thames

Executives to swim in the river their company manages. 99 Flakes at 99p. VAR: banned. Model railways: nationalised.¹⁵

MAYORAL ERA

HS2 → “FFS1”

A simple rename, at last reflecting the passenger experience. From the 2026 Makerfield manifesto.¹

2026

The serious bit

Behind the bin is a long-running, oddly noble argument: that turning up matters. That anyone should be able to stand. That a candidate in a bin on his head, making fully costed jokes about croissants, is part of what makes British democracy resilient rather than ridiculous.

And some of it is straightforwardly real: his pledge to build at least one affordable house is a deliberate, repeated point about how low the bar has fallen^10,11 — and 50% of proceeds from his official merchandise go to Shelter, the homelessness charity.¹⁶

Whoever you support: turn up and vote. Registration closed on 28 July and the postal-vote deadline has passed, but you can still apply for a proxy vote until 5pm on Wednesday 5 August. You'll need photo ID at the polling station — or a free Voter Authority Certificate, also by 5pm on 5 August. Polls open 7am–10pm on Thursday 13 August.^21,22

How to vote — GOV.UK →