Farage beats the bin - so why are Reform MPs livid?

The people of Clacton will be relieved it’s over, but one candidate was conspicuously absent from the proceedings last night: Nigel Farage. He and his team will say he was advised not to attend because of a security threat, Essex police deny any such advice.

Nonetheless, in a surprise to absolutely no one, Farage won the Clacton by-election, seeing off a record 33 other candidates. But just how impressive was the victory? Is Farage’s win really as big as he’d have us believe? Or is it even more hollow than the bin he defeated?

And, with the by-election behind him, attention now turns to the investigation into his £5 million in donations, which was swiftly reopened once the results were in. What happens next for Farage? And what does the Clacton result really tell us about his political future?

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Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast: The News Agents.

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