Labour, Tories and Lib Dems refuse to stand in byelection with Farage’s resignation labelled ‘desperate stunt’ – UK politics live

According to The Guardian, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage plans to resign as an MP and then stand again in the resulting Clacton byelection, saying voters there should be the judges of his actions. The move drew immediate scorn from his rivals: Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats all say they won't contest the seat, dismissing the resignation as a desperate stunt. In the background sits a question of whether the parliamentary standards commissioner should examine gifts Farage received from the donor George Cottrell, which Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called a matter for the commissioner. Farage also hinted at tighter press regulation, prompting Badenoch to warn that a Reform government using state power to control the press would be wrong.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton