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An election is due to take place in the Essex constituency of Clacton on 4 July 2024, as part of the 2024 United Kingdom general election. Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and subsequently the newly appointed leader of Reform UK, announced his intention to stand for election in the constituency.[1]
Background
editFarage had previously been leader of UKIP and the Brexit Party and there had been speculation about what sort of role he would perform in the 2024 UK general election. At a news conference on 3 June 2024, Farage announced both his intention to become leader of Reform UK and his candidature for the party in the Clacton constituency.[1] This was Farage's eigth attempt to be elected to the House of Commons.[2]
Clacton had been won by UKIP's Douglas Carswell in 2014, but was more recently held by the Conservative Party's Giles Watling, who had not been a supporter of Brexit. Watling was standing for re-election for the Conservatives in the constituency, defending the majority of 25,000 he'd had at the previous election.[1]
Former tax driver, Tony Mack, had been selected in October 2023 as the Reform candidate for Clacton. He stood aside after promises from Farage to compensate him for his costs and give him a paid job if Farage won the election. Within days Mack said he felt "ostracised" and, on 8 June, announced he would stand in the election as an independent candidate.[3]
Campaign
editOn his first day of campaigning in Clacton-on-Sea, Farage had a banana milkshake thrown over him by a member of the crowd. A 25 year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault. Farage appeared to make a joke about the incident later in the day, when he appeared in front of the media in the village of Jaywick with a tray of milkshakes.[2]
On 27 June it was reported that the Labour Party had ordered their candidate, Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, to leave Clacton and help the party campaign in the West Midlands instead. Owusu-Nepaul had built a reputation on social media of being "the best dressed candidate in living memory" and it was believed Labour were cross that he was getting more attention than the Labour leader, Sir Kier Starmer.[4]
Also on 27 June, an undercover Channel 4 journalist secretly recorded members of Farage's campaign team using offensive racial, islamaphobic and homophobic language, also suggesting refugees should be used as "target practice".[5] Farage responded by saying "In most cases they're just speaking like ordinary folk", while Reform chairman Richard Tice said that racist comments were "innappropriate".[5]
Opinion polling
edit| Dates conducted |
Pollster | Client | Sample size |
Con | Lab | Lib Dems | Green | Reform | Others | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10–19 June 2024 | JL Partners | Friederichs Advisory Partners | 502 | 21% | 18% | 6% | 6% | 48% | 1% | 27 |
| 11–13 June 2024 | Survation | Arron Banks | 506 | 27% | 24% | 2% | 5% | 42% | 1% | 15 |
| 9–12 Jan 2024 | Survation[a] | Arron Banks | 509 | 38% | 30% | 6% | – | 18% | 9% | 8 |
| 27% | 23% | 6% | – | 37%[b] | 8% | 10 | ||||
| 12 Dec 2019 | 2019 general election[c] | – | 71.9% | 15.6% | 6.2% | 2.9% | – | 3.4% | 56.3 | |
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Bensilum | ||||
| Reform UK | Nigel Farage | ||||
| Climate | Craig Jamieson | ||||
| Independent | Tony Mack | ||||
| Green | Natasha Osben | ||||
| Labour | Jovan Owusu-Nepaul | ||||
| Heritage | Tasos Papanastasiou | ||||
| UKIP | Andrew Pemberton | ||||
| Conservative | Giles Watling | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Notes
edit- ^ Poll conducted based on the previous boundaries for this constituency, not the boundaries used at the general election
- ^ Nigel Farage as candidate
- ^ Notional result[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c Scott, Jennifer (4 June 2024). "Nigel Farage confirms he will stand for Clacton seat in general election". Sky News. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ a b Quinn, Ben (4 June 2024). "Woman throws milkshake over Nigel Farage on first day of campaigning". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ Schofield, Ben (27 June 2024). "Party broke Farage's promise to repay expenses – ex-Reform candidate". BBC News. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Mitchell, Archie (27 June 2024). "Has Labour given up fighting Nigel Farage in Clacton? Candidate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul 'sent to West Midlands'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ a b McKiernan, Jennifer; Francis, Sam (27 June 2024). "Reform UK campaigners caught making racist slurs". BBC News. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ "Results spreadsheet (download)". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations" (PDF). Tendring District Council. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
Category:Constituency contests in United Kingdom general elections Category:Elections in Essex Category:Nigel Farage Category:2024 United Kingdom general election