Nigel Farage resigns as MP

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has resigned as MP for Clacton, saying he will fight the forthcoming by-election.

During his speech, he claimed he has 'not broken the law in any way at all', adding he had 'not misused public money' as he gave a statement following scrutiny over financial support given to him.

Standards investigations by the parliamentary authorities are 'now being used as a political tool', he added.

'I will fight to win'

"I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions," he said. "And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election.

"I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started."

Farage also said he has 'never been angrier in his life', as he accused the media of trying to intimidate his family.

Nigel Farage's recent financial controversies

It comes amid a wave of public scrutiny after it was revealed that he didn’t declare benefits provided by an ally who was once convicted of fraud in the US, as reported by the BBC.

Separately, the right-wing politician has also been under investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner since May, after he failed to declare a £5 million gift he received from a donor, ahead of his election as Clacton MP.

Farage has argued that, as per the rules of the Commons, he wasn’t obligated to do so and has done nothing wrong.

The British politician has been the Leader of Reform UK since 2019, and a Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton since 2024. He is a divisive figure, with his party often coming under fire for policies that negatively impact women and other minorities.

Reform UK has publicly pledged that they'll scrap the Equality Act on 'day one' if they ever come into power.

For context, the 2011 law legally protects people from discrimination, harassment, and victimization in the workplace and wider society, as well as giving you the right to challenge discrimination.

Suella Braverman, who defected to Reform UK in January, said removing the legislation would allow the party to 'build a country defined by meritocracy, not tokenism' and 'personal responsibility, not victimhood'.

As outlined by Fawcett Society, the Equality Act is what protects women from being pushed out of work for being pregnant, and allows people to challenge sexual harassment and sex discrimination at work and in public life.

Repealing it would mean a whole wave of protections would disappear in an instant.

'Nigel Farage is really offering a sort of Trump-lite for the British people'

Farage has also been slammed recently for the way he speaks to women, after he told a journalist this week she should 'write some silly story … and we won’t bother to read it'.

Jane Martinson, the former chair of Women in Journalism, told The Guardian that Farage's incidents with female journalists are an example of Donald Trump’s influence.

She said: “Nigel Farage is really offering a sort of Trump-lite for the British people, patronising a respected journalist and newspaper because he disagrees with its scrutiny.

"This is all about ignoring the public’s right to know and trying to control your own message by turning on the messenger, especially if they’re just ‘silly’ women.”

While Kerry Abel, the chair of Abortion Rights, said it was 'an alarming moment for Britain' when Farage hired right-wing theologian James Orr, who opposes abortion in every case, including rape, incest or serious risk to health, to be his head of policy.