Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been re-sworn in as the MP for Clacton after voters handed him an emphatic by-election victory in August.
Farage took the oath of allegiance in the House of Commons today, formally returning to Parliament following his re-election last month. A handful of MPs responded to his return by heckling him.
Farage resigned his seat in July before immediately standing again, arguing that he wanted Clacton voters to judge him amid an increasingly personal campaign against him. Farage said that the establishment attacks and in particular the breaches of his family’s privacy had been the “final straw”. Rather than allow Westminster to decide his fate, Farage put himself back before his constituents and asked them to be his jury.
The voters of Clacton delivered a decisive verdict. Farage won 22,239 votes - 63.3% - and secured a majority of 12,784 over his nearest challenger. This was a major increase on Farage’s 2024 general election result, when he won 21,225 votes and 46.2% of the vote.
Addressing his constituents today, Farage said: “I want to say a big thank you to all the voters in Clacton who put me back here. I will do my best.”
Speaking to GB News after being sworn in, Farage said that his work as Clacton’s MP would continue “exactly the same”.
One benefit of the by-election, he said, was that he had met “a vast number of constituents” - “more than almost any other MP in the country”.
Farage added that he would make Clacton “even more of a focus” because the by-election campaign had created “more personal connections” with local people.
While continuing to give Clacton a strong voice in Westminster, Farage said that Reform UK’s parliamentary team would take on more of the day-to-day work in the Commons. “I’m even planning another tour of the country”, he said.
Farage also made clear that he would not be deterred by the prospect of another by-election in Clacton, which could be caused by the Westminster establishment via a parliamentary standards’ investigation. The Reform UK leader declared, “If they, as the great and the good, want to stick two fingers up to the voters of Clacton, well, let them do it. Bring it on for a second by-election night.”
Farage took the oath of allegiance in the House of Commons today, formally returning to Parliament following his re-election last month. A handful of MPs responded to his return by heckling him.
Farage resigned his seat in July before immediately standing again, arguing that he wanted Clacton voters to judge him amid an increasingly personal campaign against him. Farage said that the establishment attacks and in particular the breaches of his family’s privacy had been the “final straw”. Rather than allow Westminster to decide his fate, Farage put himself back before his constituents and asked them to be his jury.
The voters of Clacton delivered a decisive verdict. Farage won 22,239 votes - 63.3% - and secured a majority of 12,784 over his nearest challenger. This was a major increase on Farage’s 2024 general election result, when he won 21,225 votes and 46.2% of the vote.
Addressing his constituents today, Farage said: “I want to say a big thank you to all the voters in Clacton who put me back here. I will do my best.”
Speaking to GB News after being sworn in, Farage said that his work as Clacton’s MP would continue “exactly the same”.
One benefit of the by-election, he said, was that he had met “a vast number of constituents” - “more than almost any other MP in the country”.
Farage added that he would make Clacton “even more of a focus” because the by-election campaign had created “more personal connections” with local people.
While continuing to give Clacton a strong voice in Westminster, Farage said that Reform UK’s parliamentary team would take on more of the day-to-day work in the Commons. “I’m even planning another tour of the country”, he said.
Farage also made clear that he would not be deterred by the prospect of another by-election in Clacton, which could be caused by the Westminster establishment via a parliamentary standards’ investigation. The Reform UK leader declared, “If they, as the great and the good, want to stick two fingers up to the voters of Clacton, well, let them do it. Bring it on for a second by-election night.”
