LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage beat trash-can wearing comic candidate Count Binface on Friday, regaining a seat in Parliament he quit a month ago to trigger the widely mocked special election.
Farage received 22,239 votes and Binface, who finished in second, won nearly 9,500 votes. The election, held on the hottest day of the year so far, had turnout of 44%.
Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party who some see as a possible next prime minister, abruptly quit his seat in July amid an investigation into whether he failed to report a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift from a crypto billionaire overseas.
He said he would run for the open seat to prove he had voters’ support.
Binface, a serial candidate who has challenged prime ministers past and present, became the default challenger in a field of 34 candidates after the major parties boycotted the campaign as a political stunt by Farage.
Farage declared victory in the early morning and did not attend the official declaration where he would have had to stand alongside the other candidates, many of them running joke campaigns.
Binface ran on a wacky platform that included a vow to “cut your taxes, and raise everyone else’s,” build one affordable home and nationalize singer Adele.
The victory by Farage showed his strong support in the Clacton area on the east coast of England but it doesn’t ensure he’ll be able to keep the seat.
An investigation by a parliamentary watchdog that was suspended when he stepped down is likely to resume. It could lead to Farage being forced out and result in yet another election.
