It would be good to think that Farage’s resignation was the beginning of the end for this most despicable of politicians

Martin Shipton

Ever the narcissist, Nigel Farage was convinced that triggering a by-election in his Clacton constituency would deflect attention from his clear misdeeds.

In fact, the ruse has already backfired spectacularly, with no parties of any substance fielding candidates against him.

Nevertheless, having succeeded in conning a majority of voters 10 years ago into backing Brexit – a move that has been disastrous for Britain’s economy – he thinks they will continue to swallow the fiction that he is the people’s champion leading some nebulous kind of fight against “the establishment”.

But he’s been pushing the same line for decades, and most people now see through him. Successive polls show that nearly two thirds of voters view him unfavourably.

His performative gesture in resigning his seat was intended to derail the Standards investigation into his acceptance of an undeclared £5m bung from the Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, aka Chakrit Sakunkrit, as well as a likely further investigation into his receipt of undeclared support from George Cottrell, a convicted criminal.

Currently the leader of a group of eight MPs, half of whom are former Tory defectors who chose not to resign and fight by-elections themselves when they switched parties, Farage hates being scrutinised so much that he didn’t announce his resignation at a press conference, where he would face questioning by journalists, but made a speech using his party’s own broadcast facilities.

His arrogance, his lack of contrition and his contempt for journalists who have exposed his reprehensible financial dealings gave us a flavour of how he would behave if he was Prime Minister.

The gullible see him as a genial guy of the kind they would like to have a pint with. In fact, he’s a control freak who will seek to neutralise anyone who he perceives as posing a threat to him. He was constantly falling out with colleagues when he was a member of the European Parliament, but stuck by Nathan Gill, the now jailed former leader of Reform UK in Wales, whose relationship with Farage was akin to that of a puppy and his master.

Absurd

Farage would have us believe that the £5m he received from Harborne was an entirely personal gift that was exempt from normal declaration requirements to the Register of Members’ Interests. Such a position is absurd and is highly unlikely to persuade the Standards Commissioner or the Commons’ Standards Committee of his innocence. His defiant behaviour is likely to make matters worse for him, resulting in a heavier penalty.

His assertion that Harborne wanted nothing in return for his £5m is nowhere near being credible. Farage has been reported to the Standards Commissioner over allegations that he lobbied the Bank of England to scrap plans for a state‑run “Britcoin” digital currency, in a meeting with Governor Andrew Bailey in September 2025.

Labour MP Phil Brickell, who chairs the parliamentary group on anti‑corruption and responsible tax, said Farage used the private meeting to urge Bailey to drop the digital pound proposal, which could reduce demand for stablecoins such as those issued by Tether — a company in which Harborne holds a major stake.

Brickell’s complaint links this to the £5m gift from Harborne to Farage, plus Harborne’s multi‑million‑pound donations to Reform, and suggests Farage’s public and private positions on crypto could benefit Harborne’s interests. This sounds highly plausible.

Ludicrous

It is also ludicrous for Farage to claim that he was out of politics when he received the £5m. He was literally the majority, controlling shareholder in Reform UK Ltd – a registered political party.

The brazen denials uttered by Farage and his nauseating sidekicks like Tice and Jenrick are very much in line with Donald Trump’s modus operandi.

Again, the behaviour of the likes of Jenrick and Reform’s London Mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham in shouting over other panel members they disagree with on TV political programmes is designed not to persuade the undecided, but to bolster support among the true believers, for whom Farage can do no wrong.

Hectoring and bullying political opponents when they seek to put forward rational arguments is an age-old tactic that Farage and his followers have no inhibitions about resorting to.

Farage’s suggestion that the voters of Clacton should determine his fate rather than the Standards Commissioner is an indication of his complete lack of respect for parliamentary ethics and the disdain in which he holds the institution that he tried to become a member of for decades before finally getting elected in Britain’s most pro-Brexit seat in 2024.

Egregious

But perhaps the most egregious part of his resignation speech was his assertion that his daughter had been “hounded” by Sky News. The allegation was rebutted by the broadcaster in a statement that said: “Sky News was not at the property at 7.41am. As has already been acknowledged, and as shown in the footage from 10.19am, Sky News was outside a property where Mr Farage was registered to vote at the last election. Sky News did not interact with Mr Farage’s daughter.

“On a single occasion, we approached the property without a camera operator, identified ourselves as Sky News, and the adult occupant chose not to engage. We were seeking to contact Mr Farage to ask questions about the gift he accepted from Mr Cottrell. This is a well-established and routine journalistic practice when reporting on matters of legitimate public interest.

“The footage clearly demonstrates that Sky News did not ‘hound’ or pursue Mr Farage’s daughter. At no stage did we seek to speak to anyone other than Mr Farage in connection with this story.”

I know whose version of events I believe.

It seems likely that Farage will stand in two by-elections – the first following his resignation at which his most prominent opponent may well be Count Binface, and the second after he is sacked from his seat following a recall petition caused by his suspension from Parliament for breaking its rules.

Even in the likely event that he wins both by-elections, he will not be exonerated. It would be good to think that his resignation was the beginning of the end for this most despicable of politicians.