An election took place in the Essex constituency of Clacton on 4 July 2024, as part of the 2024 United Kingdom general election. Nigel Farage, the newly re-appointed leader of Reform UK and the former leader of the UK Independence Party, won the election with 46.2% of the vote and successfully entered Parliament after seven previous attempts.
Background
The constituency is based on the Essex town of Clacton-on-Sea, located on the North Sea east coast of England, and also includes the towns of Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. The village of Jaywick is noted for high levels of deprivation and poverty, with 46.8% of over-16s unemployed and work typically being seasonal.
Despite being historically a strong Conservative area, the Harwich constituency (a predecessor) elected a Labour MP in 1997 and 2001. The 2014 Clacton by-election saw the election of the first ever UK Independence Party Member of Parliament. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Clacton strongly backed Brexit.
Candidates
The incumbent MP, Giles Watling (Conservative), was reselected in May 2023 to stand for re-election. Nigel Farage announced on 3 June 2024 that he would stand as the Reform UK candidate in Clacton, marking his eighth attempt to be elected to the House of Commons. The Labour candidate was Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, a trade unionist and policy officer. Other candidates included Natasha Osben (Green), Matthew Bensilum (Liberal Democrats), Tony Mack (Independent), Andrew Pemberton (UKIP), Craig Jamieson (Climate), and Tasos Papanastasiou (Heritage).
Campaign
On his first day of campaigning, Farage had a banana milkshake thrown over him by a member of the crowd; a 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault. On 27 June, an undercover Channel 4 journalist recorded members of Farage's campaign team using language described as racist, Islamophobic, and homophobic. Farage stated he was "dismayed" and later accused Channel 4 of a "set-up", claiming one of the canvassers had been an actor. Channel 4 denied that the individual was known to them prior to the report.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reform UK | Nigel Farage | 21,225 | 46.2 |
| Conservative | Giles Watling | 12,820 | 27.9 |
| Labour | Jovan Owusu-Nepaul | 7,448 | 16.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Bensilum | 2,016 | 4.4 |
| Green | Natasha Osben | 1,935 | 4.2 |
| Independent | Tony Mack | 317 | 0.7 |
| UKIP | Andrew Pemberton | 116 | 0.3 |
| Climate | Craig Jamieson | 48 | 0.1 |
| Heritage | Tasos Papanastasiou | 33 | 0.1 |
Majority: 8,405 (18.3%)
Turnout: 45,958 (58.0%)
Result: Reform UK gain from Conservative
The result represented a significant swing of 45.1 percentage points from Conservative to Reform UK. The Conservative vote share fell by 44.0 percentage points compared to the 2019 general election, when Giles Watling had won with 72.3% of the vote.
