EXCLUSIVE: Nigel Farage writes direct to Express readers after sealing his return to the Commons as the MP for Clacton by winning a by-election.
Nigel Farage on polling day in Clacton (Image: Getty)
Our overwhelming victory in Thursday’s Clacton by-election wasn’t only a big win for me and for Reform UK. It was above all a triumph for the people of Clacton – and for everybody who wants to see real change in our country.
From the moment I resigned and forced the by-election, I made clear that this was about far more than whether I continued as the local MP.
It was a contest between the patriotic people of Clacton and the entire British establishment.
Since I was first elected to Parliament in 2024, the old Westminster parties and their media mouthpieces have devoted a lot of their time to attacking me and Reform UK, trying to destroy us.
They want to silence our party because we speak up for those who have been ignored for far too long – the silenced majority who have had enough of uncontrolled immigration, rampant crime, the runaway cost of living crisis and all the other problems of living in Broken Britain.
I called this by-election because I wanted the people of Clacton to be my jury.
On Thursday they delivered their verdict. I received 22,239 votes – 63%. That’s even more votes than I won in the 2024 general election, when we overturned one of the “safest” Tory majorities in the country.
The truth is that despite all the media lies and political libels of the past two years, more people than ever in Clacton went to the polls to support me and Reform UK. As I told our people’s army of supporters at Reform’s “Faragefest” celebration on Thursday night, the voters of Clacton had come out in force and “stuck two fingers up to the political Establishment”.
I am incredibly grateful for that show of faith. I will not let my constituents down.
On the other side, the old Westminster parties showed their contempt for democracy and for local people by refusing to stand candidates in the by-election. Why? Because they were scared. They knew they would lose.
Instead they all hid behind Count Binface, the unfunny joke who actually became the candidate of the establishment. These parties truly deserve to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Now we have to look beyond Clacton, to the campaign for the next general election. After the brutal murder of my dear friend and Reform UK colleague Ann Widdecombe – which anti-terror police have linked to the arson attack on my home last year – we of course have serious concerns about safety and security.
Opponents are again screeching about the £5m personal gift I received from a friend before entering parliament.
Especially since Ann’s murder, I can think of five million reasons why that gift is welcome to fund security for myself and my family.
But we will not allow threats and attacks to stop us doing what needs to be done to turn this great country around. I will continue knocking on doors and going out to meet people in our communities.
Our party conference next month will be the political event of the year, where the Reform UK team outlines our plans to fix Broken Britain.
I asked the people of Clacton to send the Westminster establishment a message: that enough is enough.
On Thursday they delivered a message so loud and clear that it cannot be ignored.
And let me assure all those who keep trying to write my political obituary: we are only just getting started.