Source : the age
London: British right-wing leader Nigel Farage has issued a shock decision to quit parliament over a string of media reports about his ties to wealthy donors – and said he will contest a by-election to prove he has a mandate from the public to stay in politics.
The decision means voters in his regional electorate will be asked to decide whether to keep Farage as their local member or reject him because of questions about donations he received from a billionaire investor and an aristocrat who was convicted of fraud.
Farage declared he was angry at media intrusions into his private life and said he had done nothing wrong in receiving help from his wealthy friends, saying the parliamentary rules did not seek to curb an MP’s private life.
After calling a press conference for 2pm in London on Tuesday (11pm that night, AEST), the leader of the Reform UK party gained live media coverage of his decision to test voter support in his own seat.
The move is unusual in the Westminster system, in which it is common for MPs to switch parties or become independents without testing their popular support at a by-election.
The move could cost several hundred thousand pounds because of the cost of holding the by-election and counting the votes in Clacton-on-Sea, which is located north-east of London.
After speaking for 14 minutes about his concerns about his privacy and the media reports about the financial support he had received, Farage announced the surprise move to put his fate in the hands of the local electors.
He rebuked the media for its reports and said they should not have any authority over his future.
“Why should they be the people that decide my fate, when, as I repeat, I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.
“I thought about it hard, and I’ve decided today – today – I will resign as a member of parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a by-election, which would happen, I hope, in short order.
“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.
“It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go.
“And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election. I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.”
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
