Nigel Farage resigns as MP – Reform UK leader quits Commons

The Reform UK leader said he would stand again in the resulting by-election, describing it as a contest between “the people versus the establishment”.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Farage insisted he had “done nothing wrong” and denied breaking parliamentary rules or the law.

“I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law,” he said.

His decision comes after reports that long-time associate George Cottrell helped fund security and staffing in the year before Mr Farage entered Parliament.

Labour has asked the Electoral Commission to investigate whether that support should have been declared under electoral rules, arguing Mr Farage remained a leading political figure before he returned to Westminster in the 2024 general election.

Nigel Farage (Image: Jordan Pettitt)

The party has also questioned whether Mr Cottrell, who is based in Montenegro, was eligible to make political donations at the time because it is unclear whether he was registered to vote in the UK.

Mr Farage is separately under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner over whether he should have declared a £5 million gift from Reform donor Christopher Harborne before becoming an MP.

Under Commons rules in force at the time of his election, new MPs were required to register gifts worth more than £300 received during the previous 12 months unless they could not reasonably be linked to their political activities.

File photo dated 04/06/24 of Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage with George Cottrell (left) , as Mr Farage has a milkshake thrown over him leaving the Moon and Starfish pub after launching his General Election campaign in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Farage (Image: James Manning/PA Wire)

‘People versus the establishment’

Announcing his resignation, Mr Farage said he wanted his constituents to decide whether he should remain in Parliament.

“I’ve decided today I will resign as a Member of Parliament for Clacton… thereby forcing a by-election,” he said.

“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.”

He added: “This will be a people versus the establishment by-election.”

Nigel Farage (Image: Chris RADBURN)

The Reform leader confirmed he would stand again, saying: “I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.”

Farage says media scrutiny was ‘the final straw’

Mr Farage said recent reporting about his finances and support arrangements formed part of what he called an “establishment hit job”.

He accused political opponents, sections of the media and state institutions of attempting to damage Reform UK as it continues to lead opinion polls.

He also defended the £5 million gift from Mr Harborne, saying it had been made on an unconditional personal basis and would help fund security after years of threats and attacks.

Nigel Farage speaking during a rally at the Holiday Inn Norwich North in Norwich. (Image: Chris Radburn)

Labour calls for investigation

Labour Party chair Anna Turley has written to the Electoral Commission urging it to examine whether the reported support from Mr Cottrell should have been declared.

She said: “It is now abundantly clear that Mr Farage may have not only broken Parliamentary rules, he may have broken the law.”

“Farage can’t brazenly brush this off as being ‘none of your business’ any longer.”

“He needs to own his self-inflicted scandal and prove he’s not been secretly breaking the rules and taking the British public for fools.”

The Liberal Democrats have also called for Parliament’s standards commissioner to widen his existing investigation into Mr Farage’s financial declarations.

Trump backs Farage

As pressure mounted, US President Donald Trump appeared to publicly back Mr Farage.

On Monday, Mr Trump shared an article on his Truth Social platform arguing that Mr Farage was facing the same tactics used against him during the 2024 US presidential campaign.

According to The Times, Mr Trump also telephoned the Reform leader to congratulate him on what he described as his political success in helping bring about Sir Keir Starmer’s departure from Downing Street.

Who is George Cottrell?

Mr Cottrell has been a close associate of Mr Farage for years and reportedly remains one of his advisers.

According to reports, he recruited and paid three members of staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election and has continued to provide the use of a property near Buckingham Palace.

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick has described Mr Cottrell as “an old friend” of Mr Farage who has “no formal role within Reform”.

Mr Cottrell was jailed for eight months in the United States in 2017 after pleading guilty to wire fraud, having admitted attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web while posing as a money launderer.

What happens next?

Mr Farage’s resignation will trigger a by-election in Clacton, where he will seek re-election.

If he wins, he will return to Parliament with what he says will be a renewed mandate from voters.

If he loses, Reform UK would lose one of its highest-profile parliamentary figures at a time when the party continues to argue it represents the main electoral challenge to both Labour and the Conservatives.

Mr Farage continues to deny any wrongdoing in relation to both the parliamentary standards investigation and the latest allegations over undeclared support.