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The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

The Guardian view on Nigel Farage: Clacton cannot acquit him | Editorial

Reform won a contrived byelection, but scrutiny continues – while the party increasingly attacks the watchdogs and journalists asking awkward questions Nigel Farage didn’t attend the count of the byelection he forced upon Clacton. Instead, Reform UK’s leader celebrated his win with supporters at a “Farage Fest”, filmed by a friendly TV channel. For a politician who claims to speak for the people, it was telling that at his triumph he preferred an audience of believers. Mr Farage won because his

PoliticsDefenceReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Martin Rowson on Nigel Farage and the Clacton byelection – cartoon

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PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Donald Trump can’t beat Iran and Nigel Farage can only beat a bin. When it counts, these populists are just losers | Jonathan Freedland

The pattern in the US and Britain is clear. They serve up stunt after stunt to mask incompetence and the betrayal of all those who trusted them It’s a shame Nigel Farage ducked the announcement of his victory in the Clacton byelection, which confirmed his return as MP for the seat he had needlessly resigned from just a few weeks earlier. You’d have thought he would have loved it. It was the culmination of a stunt, an exercise in politics as performance. It was a display animated by – and seeking

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Burnham temporarily bans disposable barbecue sales in ‘tinderbox’ Britain

PM urges people not to risk lives and homes by starting fires as military brought in to help deal with wildfires UK politics live – latest updates Downing Street has issued a temporary GB-wide ban on the sale of disposable barbecue and brought in the military to help deal with wildfires as Andy Burnham urged people not to risk lives in “tinderbox” Britain this weekend. The prime minister spoke from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where at least 19 people have been taken to hospital during ei

PoliticsDefenceHousingHealthcare
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Farage wins Clacton byelection, but was it worth it? – podcast

Nigel Farage has won the Clacton byelection he triggered by resigning from the seat because he wanted to allow voters to ‘stick two fingers up at the entire establishment’. The Reform UK leader’s political finances were under investigation at the time. That process has now resumed, posing the risk of another byelection if Farage is found to have broken the rules. Has his party emerged stronger or weaker as a result of the byelection? And what next for Reform UK and its leader? Alexandra Topping

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

‘Let’s see what he can do’: will Burnham bring Barnsley voters back to Labour?

Reform UK overturned the ‘red wall’ in May, but with questions over Farage’s finances and a new face in No 10, could Barnsley be a bellwether for changing Labour fortunes? Labour marked its worst performance in more than 50 years when voters went to the polls in Barnsley in May, but 100 days on from those seismic local elections, the political landscape has shifted drastically. Could the South Yorkshire town, where Reform UK reaped the benefits of dissatisfaction with Labour, prove to be a test

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

‘Disgraceful’: what one photo from Clacton tells us about British politics in 2026

Byelection results have been interpreted positively by Farage and Binface, but one spoiled ballot tells its own story UK politics live – latest updates It ended, perhaps fittingly, on a rather baffling note. After 34 days of campaigning to regain the parliamentary seat of Clacton on England’s south coast, Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, declined to turn up to the town’s leisure centre to hear himself declared the winner and MP. It was quite the thing. The last high-profile win

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Benjamin Netanyahu describes UK as ‘first Islamic republic to get a nuclear weapon’

Israeli PM criticised by political rival for attacking an international ally and overseeing ‘horrific diplomatic failure’ The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the UK “the Islamic republic of Britain” in a podcast interview, where he also described the country as the “first Islamic republic to get a nuclear weapon”. His comments, made during an interview for Israel’s army radio, played into a common far-right Islamophobic trope about Britain’s small Muslim population. Continue

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Green groups urge Andy Burnham to break silence on climate crisis

More than 50 organisations say PM urgently needs to show leadership and prepare British people for scale of change needed as UK struggles through another heatwave UK politics live – latest updates The UK’s leading climate organisations have accused prime minister Andy Burnham of “remaining silent” on the climate crisis as the country struggles to cope with its fifth heatwave of the year. As widespread droughts and devastating wildfires grip the country green groups have written to Burnham urgi

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

So Nigel Farage has beaten a man in a bin. But he's in deep trouble, and he knows it | Owen Jones

The Reform leader claims vindication from the people, and it’s too early to write him off. But the problems he now faces may be more than he can bear Nigel Farage is a rattled, embattled politician. Perhaps he feels buoyed up by securing slightly more votes in a byelection boycotted by all the main parties than he did in the general election two years ago. That was despite 10,000 fewer people turning out to vote. But there was never any question that he was going to win a byelection he called pu

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Futile Clacton byelection has done Farage no favours

The Reform UK leader forced a vote that failed to make financial questions disappear, only the man himself • Clacton byelection – UK politics live Dawn had long broken in the Essex town of Clacton-on-Sea when the results for the byelection came in. After a gruelling count, an atmosphere of deep exhaustion had settled over the room. Even the man with a dustbin on his head looked weary. As it was declared that Nigel Farage had, as expected, won, there was no cheering in the room, which had been bo

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics14 Aug 2026

Standards watchdog resumes investigation into Nigel Farage over financial gifts

Reform UK leader’s return to Clacton restarts inquiry into £5m gift from cyrpto-billionaire and support from fraudster The suspended parliamentary standards investigation into Nigel Farage over accusations he failed to declare gifts and donations has resumed after the Reform UK leader’s re-election as the MP for Clacton. The twofold investigation by Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, was paused after Farage resigned from his seat and called a byelection in protest at

PoliticsEnvironmentReform