'We're coming for Labour': Nigel Farage becomes MP for first time as Reform UK leader claims victory in Clacton

5 July 2024, 03:37 | Updated: 5 July 2024, 03:59

Nigel Farage has won Clacton on Sea for Reform UK, with the Reform UK leader declaring his party is 'coming for Labour'.

The Reform UK leader was projected to claim victory in the coastal town, which is traditionally a Tory stronghold, ahead of polling day.

Farage received 21,225 votes, leaving him with a majority of 8,405.

The result was announced just before 3:30am, with Conservative candidate Giles Watling losing his seat to Mr Farage in what's been described as a 'landslide victory'.

It's the party leader's eighth attempt to become an MP, having previously run in two by-elections and five general elections as a UKIP candidate before leading Reform UK.

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Labour candidate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul received 7,448 votes, grabbing headlines for his fashion choices throughout the campaign.

"I'll do my best," said Farage, adding: "There's a gap on the centre-right of politics and it's my job to fill it."

Lib Dem candidate Matthew Bensilum received 2,016 votes, while Conservative candidate Giles Watling, who previously held the seat, received 12,820 votes.

Green Party candidate Natasha Osben received 1,935 votes, Independent Tony Mack received 317 votes, Climate Party candidate Craig Jamieson received 48, Heritage Party candidate, Tasos Papanastasiou, claimed 33 votes, while UKIP candidate Andrew Pemberton received 116 votes.

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It comes as the Reform UK leader labelled the voter swing towards his party as ‘almost unbelievable’ as the results began to roll in.

It follows a string of incidents that plagued the Reform UK leader's campaign, with a variety of items - including bottles and milkshakes - being hurled at him while on the campaign trail.

In a video posted to X earlier in the night, Mr Farage responded to the latest exit poll, saying: “It’s midnight, there are two results in from the north-east of England that put Reform on 30% of the vote, that is way more than any possible prediction or projection. It is almost unbelievable.”

Official exit poll results pointed towards a shock result that could see Reform end up with 13 members of parliament.

Earlier in the evening, Lee Anderson became Reform UK’s first elected MP after winning the seat of Ashfield - which he had previously held as a Tory MP after winning it in 2019.

Mr Anderson received 17,062 votes, beating Labour’s Rhea Keehn.