Labour urged to stand aside in Clacton to help Tories beat Farage

Labour has been urged to stand aside if there is a second by-election in Clacton in order to boost the Tories’ chances of ousting Nigel Farage.

Senior Conservative sources told The Telegraph that they hoped Andy Burnham would not put forward a candidate – or run a “paper candidate” with no formal campaign – in order to unite the anti-Farage vote.

Mr Farage, the Reform UK leader, claimed his constituents had “stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment” after he was re-elected with an increased majority from the 2024 general election and 63 per cent of the vote.

Count Binface, a novelty candidate, came second with 27 per cent.

But hours after the result was announced, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner announced that he would reopen an investigation into a £5m donation to Mr Farage, who is accused of breaching disclosure rules for MPs.

If the commissioner finds against him, he could face another by-election within months.

All major political parties have announced that they would run against him of that happened, having stood back from the “farce” by-election, which Mr Farage had triggered, on Thursday.

However, some Tories told The Telegraph they thought Labour should stand back, giving the Conservatives more of a chance to beat Mr Farage in a second election.

A senior Conservative source said: “If Burnham was sensible, he’d obviously stand aside in the next by-election. Labour don’t stand a chance, and Binface’s numbers show there’s a sizeable anti-Farage vote in Clacton.

“Either way, Kemi’s been clear she wants to throw everything at it. Reform’s laughable overselling of Farage’s poor performance on Thursday shows they’re clearly worried this isn’t over.”

Clacton was historically a safe seat for the Conservatives, although the town’s former Tory MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP in 2014 and held the seat in the following year’s general election.

In 2024, Mr Farage ousted Giles Watling, the then Tory incumbent, by winning 46 per cent of the vote to the Tories’ 28 per cent.

The Telegraph understands that the Conservatives have already begun drawing up a list of possible candidates to contest a second by-election, and are likely to choose a military veteran.

A source said: “You can’t just have a local councillor or something. We want a proper public servant as a contrast to Farage, who has been filling his boots with crypto cash.”

Mr Farage is accused of failing to register a £5m donation from Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai billionaire businessman who gave him the money before the 2024 election.

The Reform leader has insisted the money was a personal gift intended as a “reward” for his years campaigning for Brexit, although his opponents say it was intended as an advance payment for his decision to return to public life.

Speaking ahead of the result on Thursday night, Mr Farage told GB News he was “confident” he had not broken any rules, but added: “Maybe I haven’t filled in a piece of paper.”

Labour sources rejected the suggestion that the party should stand back, but MPs said it may be possible for other parties to unite around an independent “anti-corruption” candidate.

“The key is whether an alternative candidate emerges around whom the votes coalesce,” said one MP.

A second said the by-election “isn’t about Clacton” and argued that Labour needed a candidate who was “good on the attack” and “can really highlight the £5m donation, so that we can make the case for why what he has done is against the rules”.

If the Standards Commissioner finds against Mr Farage, a committee of MPs will suggest a sanction to be voted on by all MPs, which could include a suspension from Parliament.

If he is suspended for more than 10 sitting days, a by-election can be triggered if more than 10 per cent of constituents in Clacton sign a recall petition.

Mr Farage did not attend the count in Clacton on Thursday night and was not present at the declaration, with a party official telling the media there had been a “credible” threat against him.

However, it later emerged that Reform had been warned about a stunt to “disrupt” the count. Mr Farage said: “I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]