Count Binface would beat Nigel Farage in Clacton if all Britons could vote in by-election, poll finds

Count Binface would beat Nigel Farage in Clacton if all Britons could vote in by-election, poll finds Satirical character Count Binface has emerged as Farage’s main rival in Clacton - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Count Binface would beat Nigel Farage in a head-to-head contest in Clacton if the entire nation was voting, a new poll on the eve of the by-election has found. New polling from More in Common shows that in a head-to-head contest, 37 per cent of Britons want Count Binface to win the seat, while only 32 per cent would back the Reform UK leader. Green Party voters were most likely to prefer Count Binface to win, with 62 per cent saying so, followed by 56 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters and 54 per cent of Labour voters. The poll also found that 8 per cent of those who voted for Reform UK in the 2024 general election want Count Binface to win the contest. Across all parties, 32 per cent of those surveyed said they didn’t know who they wanted to win the seat. Voters in Clacton-on-Sea will head to the polls on Thursday, in a by-election triggered by Mr Farage’s decision to stand down as the constituency’s MP following massive scrutiny over his financial affairs. Mr Farage dramatically announced that he would step down from parliament and call a by-election in his Clacton seat, which he would contend after claiming he was the victim of “an establishment stitch-up”. His decision to force a contest followed continued questions about a £5m donation he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and gifts from a convicted criminal, George Cottrell. The Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour have all announced that they will not stand in the by-election with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as “fake” and Sir Keir Starmer calling it “a desperate political stunt”. Count Binface – a satirical character who has pledged to abolish VAR in football, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and “nationalise Adele” – has now emerged as his main competitor. The comedian, who is described as an “independent space warrior” and wears a bin on his head, has stood in a number of elections, including contests against Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and most recently the by-election in Makerfield, where he received 95 votes. Without other mainstream parties, the by-election is filled with numerous independent candidates, including actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox, who could steal 2 per cent of the votes according to a poll by Survation for Mandate Research. Tendring District Council has confirmed a total of 34 candidates - a record for any parliamentary contest. Another recent survey by Survation for Mandate Research of voters in Clacton suggests Mr Farage would win 73 per cent of the vote, while his main rival Count Binface could sweep up an estimated 20 per cent of the vote. In an Ipsos poll asking the general public who they would vote for in a hypothetical head-to-head, a third (33 per cent) of British adults said they would prefer Count Binface to win the race, while only 21 per cent back the Reform UK leader. Mr Farage’s party has been soaring in national polls since Labour won the the 2024 general election, winning weeping victories at two consecutive local elections. But since Andy Burnham became prime minister polling shows Reform UK is struggling. The latest YouGov survey put Labour on 24 points, two points ahead of Nigel Farage’s party on 22 per cent – the first time a YouGov poll has put Labour ahead of Reform in more than a year. It is also Reform’s lowest score since March 2025, with the party losing ground to the Conservatives. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments