Nigel Farage has retained his seat in Clacton-on-Sea after beating Count Binface in a by-election triggered in the wake of a series of financial scandals.

The Reform UK leader won the contest - which is estimated to have cost taxpayers about £250,000 - with 22,232 votes from his supporters in the Essex constituency.

But his closest rival - satirical candidate Count Binface - managed to sweep up over 20 per cent of the ballot with almost 10,000 votes.

Count Binface received loud cheers as the result was announced, while Mr Farage - who was not present at the count - received a mellow reception.

After forcing the contest with his resignation last month, the Reform UK MP refused to attend the count in the Essex constituency over disputed claims of a “credible threat” against him.

Speaking at "Farage fest", an event several miles away from the count in the Essex countryside where he stayed for the entire evening, Mr Farage told supporters the police had told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".

"I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory.... and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies," he said.

The event, which most of the media were not invited to, was decked out with a live band, bars, fire pits and marquees.

Reform UK said overnight that police had told him not to attend the count due to a “credible threat” against him.

However, it is understood that Essex Police did not advise any candidate not to attend the count.

Clacton by-election acting returning officer Ian Davidson said he did not know that Mr Farage would not attend the count until the Reform UK leader announced in a speech to his supporters elsewhere in Essex.

Mr Davidson said: “We have worked closely with Essex Police colleagues to ensure the election process is completed safely and securely, as is evident from the level of security we have in place here today.

“This includes a robust policing operation throughout the day and including at the count. It is a candidate’s decision whether or not to attend the count.”

In the wake of his victory, Mr Farage celebrated the win with a one-line post on X, featuring a photograph of him taken at the overnight “Farage-Fest”.

“The result in Clacton speaks for itself,” he wrote.

But Labour said the Clacton by-election was “no victory for Nigel Farage” and “shows he likely has so much to hide”.

Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson MP said: “Let’s be clear: this is no victory for Nigel Farage. The mountain of sleaze and scandal he and Reform are now engulfed in has grown and grown while he’s been trying to distract the public by fighting a by-election against a bin.

“This morning, Nigel Farage shouldn’t be celebrating – he should wake up and smell the coffee. He must come clean with the public and put all the facts on the table over his secret £5 million gift, his relationship with a convicted fraudster, and the other scandals his Party is drowning in.

“Farage’s distraction by-election doesn’t clear his name – it just shows he likely has so much more to hide.”

Mr Farage was also due to make what was billed as a “major speech” in Clacton at 10.30am on Friday, but Reform cancelled it, saying he had “already commented on the expected result of the by-election”.

The Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and Labour all announced that they would not stand in the by-election with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as “fake” and Sir Keir Starmer calling it “a desperate political stunt”.

But there was no shortage of people standing, with the longest-ever list of candidates, 34.

Count Binface – a satirical character who has pledged to abolish VAR in football, conscript people who play loud music on public transport and “nationalise Adele” – emerged as his main competitor.

The comedian, who is described as an “independent space warrior” and wears a bin on his head, has stood in a number of elections, including contests against Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and most recently the by-election in Makerfield, where he received 95 votes.

Before quitting Westminster, Mr Farage was being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg over a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, which he received before taking his seat in the Commons.

Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

That investigation was paused when Mr Farage resigned his seat but will resume if he wins the by-election, meaning there is a possibility he will have to face a second by-election in just a few weeks.

Speaking to Sky News, Count Binface, a character created by Jonathan David Harvey, referred to the possibility of a second by-election in the seat if Mr Farage is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.

He said: “You just said at the beginning of this interview that Nigel Farage is claiming victory, but in that case it’s going to be a two-legged match like the Carabao Cup or the Cold War, because we’re going to be back again in a few weeks aren’t we? We’ll see what happens then.”