Nigel Farage is at risk of facing a second by-election in Clacton after insiders revealed the parliamentary standards commissioner will reveal its findings into whether the Reform UK leader should have declared a £5million gift in just days.
Mr Farage, who won August’s Clacton by-election with an increased majority of 12,784 votes, was interviewed by the standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg last month.
The Reform UK leader received the £5million gift from the Thai-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne before returning to frontline politics ahead of the 2024 General Election.
Parliamentary rules require MPs to register financial interests and any registrable benefits which were received in the 12 months before their election.
Mr Farage, who claims the gift was intended to fund his personal security, denies any wrongdoing.
However, the standards commissioner could fire the starting gun on a second by-election if the case is referred to the Committee of Standards.
The Committee of Standards, which is made up of four Labour MPs, two Tory MPs and one Liberal Democrat MP, would trigger a recall petition in Clacton if it decides to suspend Mr Farage for more than 10 days.
A by-election would only be triggered if 10 per cent of registered voters in Clacton signed the recall petition, a figure which could be reached if everyone who voted for Count Binface in August backed the measure.
Sir Ian Paisley Jr, who was suspended for 30 days after being accused of breaking paid advocacy rules by receiving hospitality from Sri Lanka without informing the House of Commons, is the only MP to avoid a by-election since 2015.
Only 9.4 per cent of voters in North Antrim signed the recall petition in 2018, with the figure ranging from 13.2 per cent for Peter Bone in 2023 to 27.6 per cent for Fiona Onasanya in 2019.
Former Tory MP Scott Benton, who has since joined Restore Britain, avoided a by-election after resigning from the House of Commons while a recall petition against him was still underway.
Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as an MP before the Privileges Committee could impose its recommended 90-day suspension for misleading Parliament.
The Conservative Party is expected to select its Clacton candidate by the end of October, with an Tory insider warning Reform UK: “We will be ready.”
Meanwhile, Labour is now being tipped to field a “paper candidate” to give the Conservatives a better chance in the seaside seat.
Despite Clacton being held by the Tories between 2017 and 2024, Mr Farage won the seat at the last general election with a majority of 8,405 votes over his Conservative challenger.
The Reform UK leader retained the seat in August after extending his lead to 12,784.
However, the established political parties boycotted the poll after Mr Farage triggered the by-election himself.
A record-breaking 34 candidates put themselves forward in the seat, with satirical candidate Count Binface emerging as Mr Farage’s main opponent.
Count Binface, whose real name is Jon Harvey, received 9,455 votes.
The total was roughly equal to Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the last general election.
Meanwhile, Mr Farage grew his raw total support after 22,239 voters backed him.
An analysis shared exclusively with GB News by Electoral Calculus found Mr Farage would likely defeat a Tory-Labour alliance.
It suggested 47 per cent would support the Reform UK leader, with Conservative support reaching 42 per cent and 12 per cent supporting another candidate.
Speaking to GB News after being sworn in as the MP for Clacton for a second time, Mr Farage said: “If they, as the great and the good, want to stick two fingers up to the voters of Clacton, well, let them do it.”