Count Binface Takes 9,455 Clacton Votes as Farage Critics Turn Protest Into 27% Finish
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Aug 15
Count Binface Takes 9,455 Clacton Votes as Farage Critics Turn Protest Into 27% Finish
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 15
Summary
9,455 votes gave Count Binface second place in Clacton, where 26.9% of voters backed the satirical candidate in a 34-person by-election field.
Many supporters told the BBC they saw the contest as pointless or farcical because Nigel Farage was certain to win, so they used Binface as a protest vote and a vehicle for anti-Farage sentiment.
Several voters said the boycott by Labour and other major parties left Binface as the only viable alternative, even if his platform included joke policies such as 99p ice creams and nationalising Adele.
The by-election followed Farage's July resignation while under scrutiny over an undeclared £5 million gift; he regained the seat with 22,239 votes and cast the result as a rebuke to the establishment.