Nigel Farage slopes off to battle with a bin in Clacton by-election farce as stunt backfires

Nigel Farage slopes off to battle with a bin in Clacton by-election farce as stunt backfires With his popularity on the slide and mired in a donor scandal, Nigel Farage’s political career could fall into the shadows even if he wins his by-election stunt Brits gazed in wonder at the eclipse yesterday… as shadows fell across Nigel Farage’s chances of ever becoming PM ahead of Thursday's humiliating battle with Count Binface. The Reform leader forced a by-election in Clacton and avoided an investigation into his £5million gift from a crypto-billionaire. But with a reinvigorated Labour now ahead in the polls under new leader Andy Burnham, Farage faces two outcomes. He either wins and the probe into his finances continues. Or he loses to a bin. With his popularity on the slide and mired in a donor scandal, Mr Farage’s political career could fall into the shadows even if he wins his by-election stunt. Voters head to the ballot box in Clacton on Thursday for a contest that the Reform UK leader thought would end the scrutiny into his financial affairs. Facing a Parliamentary Standards Commissioner probe over a £5million gift, he quit to trigger a poll that could cost taxpayers £250,000. But if he beats the selection of comedy candidates he is up against – after the main parties boycotted the farce – the questions about donations will continue. And his task has been made even more difficult by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whose series of interventions to make life easier for struggling Brits has seen Labour pull ahead of Reform in the polls. Instead of an MP who fights for their interests, voters in Clacton must choose between a candidate with laughable policies only running for their own ego, or Count Binface. In a sign of how ridiculous the race has become, Rob Pownall, who has previously fought campaigns dressed as a fox to raise awareness of animal welfare, dropped out saying the by-election was too silly. Burnham's bold moves During a summer which Mr Farage has spent arguing with a bin, the PM has capped bus fares, slashed energy bills and cut hospitality rates for pubs. After giving families some much-needed breathing space, Mr Burnham unveiled a huge devolution shake-up – allowing local leaders to keep more of the cash residents pay and invest it back into their communities. In a positive vision for Britain, he has also promised an end to rough sleeping, vowed to transform social care and pledged to give locals a greater say over new shops that can open to help revitalise high streets. Meanwhile Mr Farage has unveiled ill-thought out ideas such as returning migrant boats using the Navy, something Francehas said would violate its sovereignty and breach international law. He also pledged to send foreign prisoners to El Salvador, an idea branded unworkable by Labour and dismissed by former Tory minister Ben Wallace, who accused Reform of lying. Despite this, Mr Farage is the favourite to wake up on Friday having won the by-election – but that does nothing to end the sleaze probe into the £5m he received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne. Mr Farage did not declare the sum, insisting he did not need to – despite rules stating donations and political gifts in the 12 months before entering Parliament must be made public. Becoming rattled over questions about the cash, he lashed out on LBC, claiming it was “none of your business”, before boasting: “I can spend it on Ferraris if I want.” That probe is set to resume if Mr Farage wins. If he is found to have breached rules, he could face a suspension, potentially sparking yet another by-election. On Mr Farage’s by-election stunt, polling guru Sir John Curtice said: “So far it hasn’t paid off. “The calling of the by-election and the events immediately pertaining to that do seem to have done Reform a certain amount of damage. His personal popularity has gone down a bit as well.” Sir John said by-election rules have also hindered Mr Farage on the national stage. He explained: “Because of the absence of candidates from the main parties, it has been quite difficult for the broadcasters to put him on air, because if you put him on, who else do you put on air? It has arguably reduced his national visibility, rather than served to increase it.” He added that Reform would not just be worried about Labour, but that the Tories were also “breathing down Reform’s neck”. Dismissing the by-election, Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, said: “The only thing we’ll learn from bin day is that Nigel Farage can waste the people of Clacton’s time. “This by-election stunt has failed to distract from the scandal and sleaze surrounding Farage and Reform. He needs to start answering questions about why he failed to declare a £5m gift.”