Business Booms as Clacton goes to the Polls

Ella Beadman and Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | 12th August 2026 | Polling

At long last, the week of the by-election triggered by Nigel Farage as a ‘people versus the establishment’ contest has finally arrived, and constituents are preparing to head to the polling station this Thursday to cast their votes for the next MP.

Clacton has a history of becoming the epicentre of media storms after being the first constituency to elect UKIP in 2014, and the constituency to give Nigel Farage a seat in the House of Commons in 2024. Now, the seaside town finds itself in the headlines again in the wake of an unexpected by-election called by Nigel Farage in which his main opponent is novelty candidate – Count Binface. Mace visited Clacton to hear what local businesses make of the media circus that has descended on the seaside town....

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