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One in three British adults (33 per cent) would rather see Count Binface winning the Clacton by-election, a new poll has shown.<\/p>\n
Only 21 per cent told YouGov that they would like to see Nigel Farage re-elected as MP, while nearly three in four (74 per cent) said that the parliamentary standards commissioner should be investigating the Reform UK leader. <\/p>\n
Mr Farage is under increasing pressure as scrutiny grows over his financial affairs, with it emerging that the Metropolitan Police<\/a> has been investigating \u00a3500,000 of donations<\/a> to his political party<\/a> for more than a year. <\/p>\n The Clacton MP resigned and called a by-election in which he will run, but his main opponent is likely to be parody candidate Count Binface<\/a>, after mainstream parties refused to participate. <\/p>\n Reform UK<\/a>\u2019s deputy leader Richard Tice has insisted a donor at the heart of a row over the party\u2019s finances comes from a \u201cvery successful aristocratic family\u201d and the ongoing row is a \u201cpolitically motivated smear\u201d. <\/a><\/p>\n According to The Times, convicted fraudster George Cottrell\u2019s mother, Fiona, made two \u00a3250,000 payments to Reform before the last general election in 2024, and also gave \u00a31 million to Britain Means Business, which Mr Tice is a director of. <\/p>\n Subscribe here<\/a> to get the latest updates from The Independent<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a>Who has backed Count Binface in Clacton by-election?<\/p>\n Given a head-to-head choice between the two candidates<\/a>, 33 per cent of British adults said they would prefer Count Binface to win, while only 21 per cent would back the Reform UK leader, polling from Ipsos found.<\/p>\n Within 24 hours of Mr Farage\u2019s resignation, more than 5,000 people donated to Count Binface\u2019s emergency campaign fund, raising more than \u00a315,000 to cover his deposit and leafleting costs.<\/p>\n As the self-described \u201cintergalactic space warrior\u201d currently stands as the most prominent alternative to Mr Farage, Count Binface has drawn support from across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n Find out who is backing Count Binface in his race against Mr Farage:<\/p>\n Harriette Boucher11 July 2026 09:25<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Harriette Boucher11 July 2026 09:20<\/p>\n <\/a>Farage fears life for politicians has become more dangerous <\/p>\n Nigel Farage has said the murder probe into ex-Tory minister Ann Widdecombe\u2019s death shows that life for politicians has become more dangerous. <\/p>\n The Reform leader said yesterday that he was \u201cdeeply, deeply upset\u201d by the nature of her death.<\/p>\n \u201cOur nation is a much, much poorer place without her. Reform UK is certainly a much worse place without her. I was expecting to see her in Clacton over the course of the next few days. Sadly, that is not going to happen.<\/p>\n \u201cRest in peace, Ann. A remarkable, principled woman, and a truly dreadful way to die, and a terrible reflection on modern Britain.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I do fear that for anybody in public life, or especially the political space, things have become even more dangerous to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Police have said they do not believe the motive behind her death was politically motivated. <\/p>\n Harriette Boucher11 July 2026 09:12<\/p>\n <\/a>Cap private political donations to restore trust in British democracy, think tank says<\/p>\n A cap on private political donations<\/a> would rebuild trust in British politics, a new report has argued.<\/p>\n Published by think tank<\/a> the Institute for Public Policy Research<\/a> (IPPR), the major report makes the case for a \u201cradical overhaul\u201d of the UK\u2019s democracy<\/a> through a new model of \u201cdemocratic citizenship\u201d, in response to a crisis of pride in the country and growing disillusion with the current political system.<\/p>\n It has proposed several reforms<\/a> that it believes will rebuild trust in the UK\u2019s political institutions and boost national unity.<\/p>\n Read the full article here:<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 07:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Nigel Farage named sleaziest politician in UK in new poll \u2013 and even Reform voters think it<\/p>\n According to a new YouGov poll, 73 per cent of Britons think the Reform UK leader<\/a> is sleazy, while 69 per cent of people say the same of his party.<\/p>\n Some 56 per cent categorised Mr Farage<\/a> as \u201cvery sleazy\u201d, with an additional 17 per cent finding him \u201cfairly sleazy\u201d, while 40 per cent of those who voted Reform at the last election today consider him to be sleazy.<\/p>\n The polling highlights a clear gap between the public\u2019s perception of Mr Farage and the other party leaders, with 51 per cent of Britons seeing Sir Keir Starmer as at least fairly sleazy, while 42 per cent said the same of Green leader Zack Polanski.<\/p>\n Read the full article here:<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 06:00<\/p>\n <\/a>The UK voted Leave \u2013 but nobody voted for this mess<\/p>\n So here we stand, outside the EU in a place no one voted for. It\u2019s time for a reality check. Ten years ago, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU by a slender majority. That vote, however, was meaningless. Nobody knew what outside the EU would come to mean, and without such knowledge, there was never a legitimate choice.<\/p>\n Some drew the inference that the result was a vote to go anywhere outside the EU, but this ignored the distinct possibility that, on seeing what Brexit looked like, the nation might prefer to remain inside.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer saw the point. As shadow Brexit secretary, he argued that the public should have a \u201cfinal say\u201d on the terms of the deal once it had been negotiated. Yet, the truth is, we never even had a first say.<\/p>\n Read the full opinion piece here:<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 05:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Burnham\u2019s Labour will \u2018wear our hearts on our sleeve more\u2019, says ally in swipe at Keir Starmer<\/p>\n Andy Burnham\u2019s Labour <\/a>will \u201cwear our hearts on our sleeve more\u201d, the PM-in-waiting\u2019s ally Lisa Nandy<\/a> has said, in an apparent swipe at Sir Keir Starmer who has been criticised for failing to connect with voters.<\/p>\n Ms Nandy, the culture secretary, said a Burnham government<\/a> would also be \u201cfaster and bolder\u201d because he is \u201cwilling to think very differently about how we deliver\u2026 change\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people will see us taking the fight to any system that stands in the way of them living better lives,\u201d she told the BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 04:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Starmer declines to rule out resignation honours despite previous opposition<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer has left the door open to putting forward a resignation honours list despite previously ruling out such a move.<\/p>\n With his time as Prime Minister almost at an end, Sir Keir refused to rule out issuing resignation honours, telling reporters: \u201cWe\u2019ll look at it in the usual course of things.\u201d<\/p>\n His statement was a marked difference from his position on the issue while leader of the opposition in 2023 amid a controversy over Boris Johnson\u2019s own resignation honours list.<\/p>\n At the time, Sir Keir criticised Rishi Sunak\u2019s decision to approve Mr Johnson\u2019s honours list before MPs had ruled on whether he had lied to Parliament over the Partygate scandal.<\/p>\n Criticising Mr Sunak\u2019s approval of the list, Sir Keir ruled out putting forward a similar list of his own if he ended up quitting after a stint in No10.<\/p>\n He told the BBC it was \u201cvery hard to justify\u201d resignation honours, adding: \u201cThere are other avenues for that and I think it is easier to be clean about this and say no, I wouldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n \u201cTony Blair didn\u2019t do it and I wouldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 03:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Burnham facing backlash from UK Jewish leaders over Gaza comments<\/p>\n Andy Burnham<\/a> has been hit by backlash from Jewish leaders who say they have \u201csignificant concerns\u201d over his indication he will oversee a tougher policy on Israel <\/a>in support of Gaza.<\/p>\n The prime-minister-in-waiting issued a video on social media on Thursday in which he apologised for Labour\u2019s previous response to the violence in Gaza<\/a>, and admitted that the government had been too slow in calling for a ceasefire.<\/p>\n In the video, he said: \u201cI know many people feel that at the start of Israel\u2019s military action in Gaza, my party didn\u2019t get it right \u2013 and I am sorry about that. The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n While the statement has welcomed by many in the Labour party, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council expressed concern over the comments on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been in touch with Andy Burnham\u2019s team to convey directly our significant concerns in relation to his remarks yesterday,\u201d the groups said in a statement.<\/p>\n Read the full article here:<\/p>\n Joe Middleton11 July 2026 01:00<\/p>\n