What time is the Clacton by-election result? When to expect the winner announcement and full list of candidates

CLACTON voters will soon discover who will be their next MP after a record-breaking by-election. Polling stations opened at 7am, but the 34-candidate ballot means the count could run later than usual. Nigel Farage triggered the Clacton by-election when he resigned as the constituency’s MP Credit: Ray Collins One of his unlikely rivals for the seat is Count Binface Credit: Shutterstock Editorial What time is the Clacton by-election result? There is no guaranteed declaration time, but the result is expected before breakfast on Friday. Reports say the winner should be known in the early hours, while the complicated count could push the announcement back to around 5am. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Once voting ends, ballot boxes from 51 polling stations must reach the count centre. Officials verify that the number of papers matches the polling-station records before counting all votes. more clacton by-election news That job may take longer than normal because Clacton’s ballot paper is almost a metre long. Acting Returning Officer Ian Davidson said its record size created practical problems, including how staff would spread the sheets out while allowing candidates’ representatives to watch. He explained: “Administratively, it’s about how we fit this ballot into the envelopes for postal voters, and – when the voters receive their postal votes – how they get it into an envelope and get it back to us because it is that long. “We also have an issue for the counters, how we’re going to lay it out, how we’re going to ensure that those who are watching can see while at the same time managing these metre long ballot papers. Most read in The Sun No exit poll is planned, so voters should not expect a 10pm projection. When do polls close in Clacton? Voting runs from 7am until 10pm tonight. The contest uses first past the post, so each elector chooses one candidate and the person with the most votes becomes MP – they don’t need to secure more than 50% of the vote. The by-election was triggered when Nigel Farage resigned as Clacton’s MP on July 8, 2026. Farage took 21,225 votes at the 2024 general election, finishing 8,405 ahead of Conservative runner-up Giles Watling. Who are the Clacton by-election candidates? A record-breaking 34 candidates are standing in a UK parliamentary election, beating the 26 in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election ballot in July 2008. The candidates are as follows: Joseph 77, Independent Adham Alkhatip, The Forward Party Count Binface, Count Binface Party Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party Tony Cane, Independent Woke Trump Carrzee, Independent William Stuart James Clouston, Social Democratic Party Rees Cowne, Independent Glenn Charles Cummings, Independent Martin Davies, Freedom Alliance – Real People, Real Alternative! Andy Erlam, Independent Nigel Farage, Reform UK Attieh Fard, Independent Laurence Fox, The Reclaim Party Tony Francis, Independent Robin Green, Independent Abi Hookway, Independent Howling Laud Hope, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party Stephen Richard Ingram, Independent Amy Morris, Independent Derrick Norbert Morris, Independent Martyn O’Brien, Independent Michael Noel O’Keeffe, Independent Nick Pelas, Independent Ketankumar Pipaliya, UK VOICE safer and stronger UK Daniel Pocock, no ballot description James Ransley, Consensus Party Candidate Gerry Smith, Independent Kai Stephens, British Democrats John Stevens, Rejoin EU Baron Von Thunderclap, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party Pamela Walford, Independent Marcus White, Everyone is God Party Marc Wilkinson, Independent Comment now