Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage announces his resignation as a member of parliament while giving a statement on his 'future in public life' at Millbank Tower on Tuesday in London.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s populist Reform UK, plans to step down as an MP and trigger a by-election so he can take on his critics.
In a lengthy video statement released on Tuesday, Mr. Farage railed against the media and the “establishment” for relentless attacks on him and his personal finances. He said he would resign as the MP for Clacton-on-Sea and run in a subsequent by-election, likely next month.
“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by-election,” he said in the video.
Mr. Farage has built his political career as an outsider fighting against the forces he believes are holding Britain back. From his prolonged, and ultimately successful, campaign to pull Britain out of the European Union to launching three different political parties, Mr. Farage has sought to tap into voter discontentment over issues such as immigration.
After failing to win a seat in parliament for decades, Mr. Farage made a breakthrough in the 2024 election. Reform won five seats, including Mr. Farage in Clacton. Since then, the party has topped almost every opinion poll and supplanted the Conservatives as the main opposition voice to the Labour government.
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Reform’s success pushed Keir Starmer to announce in June that he will resign as Labour Party leader and prime minister. Mr. Starmer had faced growing pressure to quit from Labour MPs who feared the party would suffer a massive defeat in the next election with him as leader.
But Reform’s popularity has also led to greater scrutiny of the party and its leader.
Mr. Farage has been under investigation by parliamentary officials since May over a £5-million, or $9.5-million, gift he received from Reform donor Christopher Harborne, a British billionaire investor, in April, 2024.
The Sunday Times revealed last weekend that Mr. Farage also received support from George Cottrell, a British businessman and longtime ally who was convicted of fraud in the United States in 2017. According to the article, Mr. Cottrell paid for some of Mr. Farage’s staff ahead of the election and gave him the use of a house.
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Under parliamentary rules, newly elected MPs must disclose any gifts or benefit they received in the 12 months before taking office. However, there are exemptions for benefits that are considered “purely personal.”
Mr. Farage has argued that he followed the rules to the letter. “Let me be absolutely clear, I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money,” he said Tuesday. He added that it appeared that “the press would rather our Members of Parliament have no assets and no wealth at all.”
He also criticized the Sunday Times for running a photograph of his daughter’s home which he said had “directly threatened her security.”
“I will not tolerate intimidation of my family,” he said. “I’ve never been angrier in my life.”
He said the by-election would be a chance for voters in Clacton “to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go.”
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The parliamentary investigation into Mr. Farage won’t end because of his resignation. The Standards Commissioner’s probe will resume if he is re-elected. The commissioner’s findings could lead to his suspension from parliament, or even another by-election.
Mr. Farage’s opponents dismissed his resignation a stunt.
“This is a gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders,” said Labour MP Andy Burnham who is the only candidate to replace Mr. Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. He added, “What really matters in politics is how we can change Westminster to take power for communities and bring it back to people to make life more affordable for them.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Mr. Farage was cracking under pressure. “He went on telly, having a hissy fit, because for the first time he is finally having to face some scrutiny after a very long honeymoon, and he cannot handle it,” she said.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged Mr. Farage to pay for the by-election. “It would be a crime to waste taxpayers’ hard-earned cash on this Farage vanity project,” he said.
Mr. Farage announced later on Tuesday that Reform was prepared to cover the costs. “Given that we asked for this by-election in the first place, it’s only right that we pay for it,” he said.