Betting odds slashed on Count Binface to beat Farage in Clacton by-election

Bookmakers have slashed the odds of a regular joke candidate at by-elections to beat Nigel Farage in Clacton after all major parties refused to stand in what they have dubbed a “fake” election.

Count Binface is now being quoted as the second favourite at 9/2 by William Hill, as money went on him to pull off a shock victory as the anti-Farage candidate in the by-election called by the Reform UK leader.

Mr Farage dramatically announced that he would step down from parliament and call a by-election in his Clacton seat which he would contend after claiming he was the victim of “an establishment stitch-up”.

It followed continued questions about a £5m donation he received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and gifts from a convicted criminal, George Cottrell.

The Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour have all announced that they will not stand in the by-election with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as “fake” and Sir Keir Starmer calling it “a desperate political stunt”.

Count Binface, who has become a cult figure in elections up and down the UK, posted on X with a picture similar to the Batman symbol used to call the superhero into action, with the words “On my way, Clacton.”

The comedian, who is described as an "independent space warrior" and wears a bin on his head, has contested a number of elections, most recently the by-election in Makerfield, where he received 95 votes.

On X on Tuesday, the count wrote: “Any Clacton residents who want to nominate your friendly neighbourhood intergalactic space warrior, ping me a line!”

Count Binface recently contested the by-election which saw Andy Burnham return to parliament under the slogan “Makerfield Great Again”.

The comedic candidate has pledged to make corners in football properly refereed, end subsidy for food and drink in parliament, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and force cyclists who break the highway code to ride unicycles instead.

But with only the Monster Raving Looney Party, Rejoin the EU Party and Reclaim leader and actor Laurence Fox saying they will run as well, Count Binface has become a focus of a potential tactical voting campaign to oust Mr Farage.

It comes as supporters of Mr Farage insist that he has not made a fool of himself despite the other political parties refused to stand against him.

Reform’s Zia Yusuf has accused the other major parties of "trying to make a mockery of democracy" after they announced they would not be standing candidates in the upcoming Clacton by-election, saying there has been "extraordinary levels of coordination" between them.

He told the BBC: "Isn't it incredible how quickly all of these parties that fight and bicker on the BBC and other channels every single day can coalesce and come together to make a fast decision to not stand candidates?

“It just shows what can happen, I suppose, when politicians really want to do it.

The Reform home affairs spokesperson added: "Unfortunately, of course, what they're doing, just as they did for the last two years of local elections, is try to make a mockery of democracy itself, because for many politicians - particularly the ones from the Tory-Labour-uni-party, as we call it - they consider it their birthright to have a stranglehold over British politics, and that is why Nigel Farage is so threatening to that."