Count Binface has enjoyed his best-ever election performance after receiving almost 10,000 votes and finishing second to Nigel Farage at the Clacton by-election.
The self-styled intergalactic space warrior said he was “1,000 times more popular” when standing against Farage compared to Andy Burnham, after he picked up 95 votes when challenging the now-prime minister in Makerfield in June.
Count Binface received 9,455 votes compared to Farage’s 22,239. His 26.9% share of the vote is thought to be the highest ever for a novelty candidate.
He became the leading rival to Farage after the main UK parties boycotted the by-election triggered by the Reform UK leader, amid questions over his finances.
Farage had branded Count Binface the “candidate of the establishment” after claiming supporters of other parties had canvassed for him.
The contest in the Essex constituency saw a record 34 candidates for a Westminster Parliament election, although Farage did not attend the announcement of the result in person, denying Count Binface and others a chance to line-up alongside him in the Clacton Leisure Centre.
This led Count Binface to declare he was “the winning candidate in the room”.
Reform UK said Essex Police had advised Farage not to attend the count “due to a credible threat against him”.
The BBC has been told the force did not advise any candidate that they should not attend the count.
Count Binface is the satirical alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, who has specialised in satire and been involved with BBC comedy shows, including The Thick of It and Have I Got News For You.
Harvey has previously stood in four parliamentary elections, including against prime ministers, and two London mayoral elections.
His previous best parliamentary result came in the Richmond and Northallerton vote against Rishi Sunak in the 2024 general election when he received 308 votes – 0.6% of the total share – and finished sixth out of 13 candidates.
The Clacton result was the first time that Count Binface has retained the £500 deposit candidates are required to make to validate their nomination.
It is repaid if a candidate polls more than 5% of the total number of valid votes cast in the constituency.
A mural of Count Binface and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on the promenade in Clacton [PA Media]
Farage had earlier told supporters at a Reform UK event that he was “damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”.
He then added he would not attend the count as Essex Police had told him about an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
Count Binface said he had asked police if was there “any credible threat of a disruption here”, adding: “I can tell you they said unequivocally no, it was safe to go ahead.”
He also told reporters that hearing the “verdict of the Clactonites was the least I could do”.
He added: “All I will say to you is what happens next: let’s all meet for part two of the Clacton by-election coming soon to a leisure centre near you.”
This remark was a nod to a possible second by-election in Clacton, which could occur as a result of an investigation into Farage by Parliament’s standards commissioner.
Farage resigned as an MP last month and stood in the subsequent by-election after facing intense scrutiny over financial support he has received.
The standards commissioner had been investigating Farage from May after the Reform leader did not declare a £5m gift he received from billionaire Reform donor Christopher Harborne before he became an MP.
Farage has argued he did not need to declare the gift, which he described as “unconditional”.
The investigation was paused as a result of the by-election and resumed following his return to Parliament.
One possible outcome of a standards investigation is a suspension which triggers a recall petition. This process enables an MP to be removed and a by-election triggered if 10% of eligible registered voters sign a petition.
The other main UK parties are expected to put up a candidate if there is a second by-election.
Independent candidate Marc Wilkinson, who received 11 votes, was not happy with the attention Count Binface received during the campaign.
He said: “I was shocked that all the main parties didn’t stand, I was shocked that Reform called the by-election, shocked that all the attention has been on Count Binface, most incredibly shocked by the extent to which the other candidates have been essentially ignored.”
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