LONDON — Nigel Farage’s shock decision to quit as a member of Parliament so he can fight again for the seat he won two years ago puts the poll-topping Reform leader back where he’s happiest: at the center of Britain’s attention.

Farage was under pressure over an investigation into whether he appropriately declared finances he received in the run-up to the 2024 election — a probe that carries the potential penalty of having to give up his Clacton seat in Parliament. Instead, he pulled the trigger himself, choosing to fight a by-election on his own terms and framing the matter as a “people-versus-the-establishment” contest.

The move puts Farage at the top of the news agenda again just as Andy Burnham prepares to take power on July 20, giving the Reform leader the prospect of a nailed-on win that could put a dent in Burnham’s political narrative about renewing the struggling Labour Party. It also gives the career politician extra political oxygen at a time when Burnham will be trying to convince the public of his new plans for government.

“It’s a self-pitying ego trip designed to distract people for a while,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, speaking in a phone interview. “Burnham would either be best advised to stand someone low profile or just give the whole thing a miss.”

Within hours of Farage’s broadcast statement, there were signs that other parties might just do that, and deny him the satisfaction of a fair contest. Farage’s erstwhile ally Rupert Lowe, who broke away to found a new party even further to Farage’s right, said he wouldn’t “participate in a Reform-sponsored media circus.” Ed Davey, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats said: “If this by-election does go ahead now, we are calling on all parties to stand aside.”

A Reform spokesperson said they would carry on even if no major parties stood against them: “If they’re all frit, so be it.”

Labour later confirmed that they would not put up a candidate in the contest, describing it as a “circus.” Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives also said they’d be opting out.

“Nigel Farage is engulfed in a sleaze scandal, and he’s desperately trying to change the subject,” Labour said in a statement. “It’s pathetic, and the Labour Party is not going to indulge it.”

A win for Farage in Clacton would represent an echo of Burnham’s own recent rise to prominence. He pulled off a convincing victory over Reform in the Makerfield by-election last month and sapped Keir Starmer’s remaining political authority by fueling a sense that Labour’s only path to victory at the next general election would be to install him as PM.

By winning so soon after Burnham takes office — once it’s triggered, a by-election would be expected in the weeks just after Burnham is due to take over — Farage would boost the narrative in favor of his party, whose poll lead has narrowed since Burnham made his move on Starmer’s job.

Farage is widely expected to win in Clacton. A poll in April by More In Common had Reform’s share of the vote at 50%, compared to Labour’s 9%. However that preceded Burnham’s return to Parliament and also came before most of the revelations casting doubt on Farage’s probity. It’s unclear how Reform’s popularity has been affected by those. Farage secured 46% of the votes in Clacton in 2024, beating the Tories on 28% and Labour on 16%.

Farage has said that Reform is happy to cover the cost of a new vote in Clacton, but that gesture risks drawing attention to his problems, which revolve around the provenance of Farage and Reform’s finances. The party has received significant donations from Christopher Harborne, the crypto investor, and Farage himself received £5 million ($6.7 million) from Harborne without declaring it. That £5 million triggered the initial investigation into Farage by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

There are cases in recent British political history of MPs triggering by-elections and that decision backfiring. Zac Goldsmith, who was then a Conservative MP, stood down in 2016 over his government’s proposal for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and lost the subsequent by-election. Conservative MP David Davis also resigned his seat in 2008 to campaign against the erosion of civil liberties. He won the subsequent by-election, but the other parties didn’t stand established candidates and Davis’ decision was criticized over the cost of having to hold the election.

Farage’s decision looks to carry some of the same risks, given the declarations from other parties that they will opt out. The Conservatives’ Badenoch said she doesn’t “need to respond to one man’s gimmick” and that Farage is “running away from scrutiny.”

“This is a desperate stunt from Nigel Farage and it’s obvious why he’s doing it — he is up to his neck in sleaze,” Starmer said in a statement Tuesday. “Politics should be about improving the lives of millions of people, not about personal gain, not about hiding dodgy donations, and I think the public will see this for exactly what it is.”

Douglas Carswell, who used to represent Clacton as its MP, told Times Radio that Farage runs a risk of standing against just “Lord Binface and the Monster-Raving Loony Party“ if the major parties decided not to put up any candidates.

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(With assistance from Lucy White, Alex Morales and Chloe Chaplain.)

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