‘Can’t run away forever’: Farage warned he faces growing threat of second by-election

Nigel Farage has been warned that he may struggle to “wriggle out” of a second possible by-election in Clacton, as sleaze claims continue to pile up against his party. The Reform leader has been urged to “come clean” after a report suggesting that he struck a secret deal with deputy leader Richard Tice to return to the top role several months before the 2024 general election. It casts fresh doubt on Farage’s defence that he had not declared a £5m gift from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne in April 2024 because he was not involved in politics at the time. Shorts It emerged today that Tice is also under investigation by parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg for failing to declare an interest. Labour and opposition parties accused Farage of “running away” from serious questions over personal and party finances. They warned the Reform leader that he was running out of time before he faces a parliamentary probe which could trigger a second Clacton vote that they will fight to win. Farage admits discussing ‘liabilities’ involved in return In March and April 2024, Farage negotiated a deal with Tice to take over the leadership of the party – so long as Reform UK repaid or wrote off more than £1m in loans received from Tice’s company, the Sunday Times reported. Farage has argued that Harborne’s £5m gift was not connected to his political activity and said last month that he “wasn’t in politics” between 2021 and June 2024. Farage previously said he had no intention of returning to politics before June 2024. Newly elected MPs must register any relevant financial interests and gifts received in the 12 months before their election. Nigel Farage attends a press conference in London (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images) Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Farage admitted that in spring 2024 he had discussed with Tice what would happen if he returned to lead the party. “You’d be a bit of a mug, wouldn’t you, to walk into a job and not find out what the potential liabilities were, and they were substantial,” he said. But Farage added that it “wasn’t a deal, it wasn’t an agreement, it was subject to if I came back”. A Reform source said Farage had been keeping his options open in March and April 2024. They said he had found out about the party’s financial liabilities, then initially decided he would not return – before later reversing that decision. ‘Farage won’t be able to wriggle out of investigations’ An investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner into the £5m gift has been paused until after next week’s Clacton by-election – triggered earlier this summer by Farage. He is widely expected to win the 13 August vote. However, should the standards commissioner find against him, MPs could suspend the Reform leader from the Commons.Should he be suspended for more than 10 sitting days, it would trigger a recall petition in his constituency. If at least 10 per cent of voters sign up, he will lose his seat and have to fight another by-election. Farage’s main opponent in next Thursday’s Clacton contest is novelty candidate Count Binface after the major parties boycotted the poll, dismissing it as a political stunt. However, all the main parties have confirmed that they intend to stand against Farage if there is a second Clacton by-election. Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said even if Farage were to beat Binface in the “pointless” contest, “he won’t be able to wriggle out of the formal investigations or the prospect of a second by-election”. She added: “With every new revelation, Reform UK and Nigel Farage look more and more like a bunch of grifters who believe it’s one rule for them and one rule for everyone else.” Reform deputy Richard Tice is also under investigation by the standards commissioner (Photo: Toby Shepheard/AFP via Getty Images) Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative Party chair, said Farage “needs to come clean about his finances”, adding: “The questions keep mounting, yet the answers never come.” Labour’s chair Bridget Phillipson suggested that Farage was “running out of time” before the formal investigation which could trigger a second by-election. Farage had “called a by-election against a bin to run away from serious unanswered questions,” Phillipson said. The Reform leader “can’t run from the truth forever though – the net is closing in,” she added “If accurate, this revelation blows Nigel Farage’s story apart,” added Phillipson. “It would mean Farage was privately negotiating his return to frontline politics while publicly presenting as someone who hadn’t decided whether to return.” Other investigations faced by Reform Farage has appeared to acknowledge that he could also face a second parliamentary probe, over support provided by convicted fraudster George Cottrell. Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid staff to work on Farage’s social media before the 2024 election. It emerged on Monday that Tice is under investigation by the standards commissioner. The probe into an alleged failure to declare an interest was launched on 28 July. Reform’s deputy leader claimed the inquiry was about a complaint by an “anti-Israel lobby group” over whether he should have made reference to his register of interests at start of “a debate on UK democracy and Israeli influence”. Separately, the Metropolitan Police are investigating two donations of £250,000 to Reform before the 2024 election by a company controlled by Tice called Britain Means Business. Direct donations to Reform by George Cottrell’s mother, Fiona, are also being investigated by Scotland Yard, The Times first reported. George reportedly transferred more than two million dollars to his mother before her 2024 donations to Reform UK. Last month Farage claimed that he had “absolutely no idea” whether Ms Cottrell had donated money on behalf of her son George. “What’s it got to do with me how families sort out their finances?” The i Paper has previously reported how Farage may have fallen into the “Boris Johnson trap” with the £5m gift from Harborne and the claim that it was a “personal” arrangement. The former Tory PM had argued to parliamentary authorities that he didn’t have to declare a £15,000 holiday to Mustique funded by friend David Ross because it was a private arrangement. But that argument was emphatically rejected due to the fact Ross was a previous party donor. Harborne is one of the biggest political donors in modern UK history and first donated to Reform’s forerunner the Brexit Party in 2019. Meanwhile, Farage said he was “open minded” about working with right-wing rival Restore, following an offer from its leader Rupert Lowe of a deal between the two parties. The Reform UK leader told reporters Monday’s press conference that he had “opened the door” to a conversation with Lowe, saying he had reached out to him about a possible call. Lowe had set out five conditions for co-operation – including a referendum on the death penalty and the exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future Cabinet. Farage appeared to reject the demand about excluding former Tory ministers. “I don’t ditch my friends,” said Farage. Reform UK was contact for comment.