Ruling Reform group backs Farage’s resignation

The Reform UK group that runs Lancashire County Council says Nigel Farage has done “the right thing” by quitting as an MP to trigger a parliamentary by-election.

County Cllr Simon Evans, the deputy leader at County Hall, backed his national party leader’s decision to resign as the member for Clacton – and then stand in the resultant content.  He said the “political establishment” was trying to bring Mr. Farage down. 

His comments came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the by-election move as a “desperate stunt”, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded it a “hissy fit” and the Liberal Democrats said they would boycott the poll – a stance since backed by the Tories and then Labour. 

Mr. Farage has been under increasing pressure and scrutiny in recent weeks over his failure to declare a £5m gift he received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne in early 2024, shortly before running in that year’s general election.   The matter is currently the subject of an inquiry by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. That process will be paused for the by-election, but restarted if Mr. Farage is re-elected.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, The Sunday Times revealed the Reform UK leader did not declare “in kind” benefits, including security and social media staff, from the “crypto-gambler” and convicted fraudster George Cottrell – again before he entered Parliament.  

Mr. Farage has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, pointing to the fact that the gifts came before he was an MP and claiming they were not political – and so were not subject to rules requiring new parliamentarians to make disclosures about “registrable benefits” received in the 12 months prior to their election.

In announcing he was quitting to force a by-election, Mr. Farage said “the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions” – and added that the vote would be “a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment” .

County Cllr Evans told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Reform in Lancashire “totally agree” with Mr. Farage’s decision.

He added:  “The political establishment are using everything they can to bring Nigel down, including the media. 

“Nigel has been in politics a long time and [is amongst] the most influential politicians of the last 30 years. He and his family have been subject to threats and attacks. This has to stop – and Nigel has not been offered appropriate security support from the establishment.

“It is not for the political establishment to decide the future of our politics so that they can hang on to power. The decision is for the people, the electorate to decide. 

“This is why Nigel has stood aside to allow the people of Clacton to decide. That is the right thing to do, as the government should be for the people and of the people, not career politicians.”

Lancashire County Council has been run by a Reform UK administration since the party swept to victory from a standing start in the local elections in May 2025.