Clacton By-Election 2026 · Thursday 13 August

Campaign Log

Transmissions from the bin. Dispatches from the wire.

The full log

Curated by hand from primary sources — last updated 2 August 2026.

  1. Count Binface to The i Paper

    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 →
  2. WIRE

    The campaign gets a theme tune. Richard West — Mr. C, former frontman of The Shamen — has re-recorded the band's 1992 number one "Ebeneezer Goode" with lyrics about the Count, and filmed a music video, both due for release. Meanwhile the Monster Raving Loonies' rival "manicfesto" pledges to ban "intergalactic interference in UK elections".32

  3. Count Binface @CountBinface · X

    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 →
  4. Count Binface @CountBinface · X

    "Lights out and away we go! #Clacton" — posted as nominations close. It is his eighth election.28

    View the post on X →
  5. WIRE

    It's official — and it's a record. The Statement of Persons Nominated confirms 34 candidates, the largest field ever at a UK parliamentary election (the previous record: 26, at Haltemprice & Howden in 2008). Binface is on the ballot; the major parties' boycott held; the Monster Raving Loonies are fielding three candidates.21,23,24,25

  6. Count Binface Clacton pledge card

    A five-point Clacton pledge card lands: weekly constituency surgeries; all letters and emails answered within three days; "for every day I spend overseas, I will spend ten in Clacton"; outside earnings donated to Clacton charities; and, on a postcode lottery basis, helping one family per week put their bins out. Alastair Campbell shared it, noting the pledges are aimed squarely at Mr Farage's weaknesses.27

    Read at The London Economic →
  7. WIRE

    PMQs, and the bin goes to Westminster. Kemi Badenoch asks the Prime Minister whether the country deserves a televised Farage–Binface debate. Keir Starmer, at his final PMQs: "My advice to everyone is put your vote in the bin" — a line The Daily Telegraph reads as an endorsement. Lib Dem leader 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 →
  8. WIRE

    Ipsos: Britain would rather the bin won. In a hypothetical forced-choice head-to-head, 33% of British adults would prefer Count Binface to win Clacton against 21% for Farage (32% say neither) — a national preference poll, not constituency voting intention, but a 12-point lead is a 12-point lead. The same poll: 73% say the standards investigation should continue even if Farage wins, and 69% back the 99p Flake pledge.26

    Read the Ipsos release →
  9. Count Binface to NPR

    "My job is to demonstrate that British democracy is wonderful and unique in the entire Cosmos." And his appeal to Clacton voters? "That I'm not Nigel Farage."29

    Listen at NPR →
  10. WIRE

    Polling day confirmed: Thursday 13 August. Reform wanted 6 August; Tendring District Council set the 13th. Nominations 14–17 July. Register to vote by 28 July — photo ID (or a free Voter Authority Certificate) required at the polling station.17,18

  11. WIRE

    The House of Commons approves the moving of the writ — the by-election is formally on.18 Al Jazeera profiles the Count under the headline "'Not Nigel Farage': Who is Count Binface?"20

  12. Count Binface on LBC, to Andrew Marr

    "Of course I've computed every eventuality. Like Avengers Endgame, there is a small window of opportunity within which I actually become an MP." Declares himself "quietly confident", notes he still needs ten Clacton residents to nominate him, and brands any Commons dress rule that would bar the helmet "binnist".19

    Read at LBC →
  13. WIRE

    Farage is appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead — the traditional mechanism for resigning — formally vacating the Clacton seat.18

  14. Count Binface @CountBinface · X

    "Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton. I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house. Nigel Farage says he wants The People versus the Establishment. So be it. Leave him to me."10

    View the post on X →
  15. WIRE

    Farage announces his resignation at a press conference. Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems, the Greens and Restore Britain all announce they will boycott the by-election.13,18

Meanwhile his own homepage (checked 2 August) now announces "MY CLACTON 2026 MANIFESTO IS HERE!" in banner type — directly above the same old "I will update the site pronto. Bear with me, humans!" The full text still isn't on his site; it lives on his social channels, and on our manifesto page.1 This log is curated rather than live-embedded — a live X feed would mean handing the page to third-party scripts — and every entry links to its primary source. For the firehose, follow @CountBinface.