Why Farage may face a second by-election despite Clacton win

It is "almost inevitable" Nigel Farage will be found in breach of parliamentary rules for failing to declare £5 million given to him by a crypto billionaire, Harriet Harman has told Sky News.

The veteran politician, who was deputy Labour leader under Gordon Brown, explained on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast how the process of investigating the Reform leader will now continue after he won the Clacton by-election today.

Mr Farage resigned as Clacton's MP over scrutiny surrounding the £5m he was given by Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before he decided to stand to become an MP in 2024. He has maintained it was for personal reasons - namely security - and not political, which is allowed under the rules.

Politics latest: Farage £5m gift inquiry reopened

He said he wanted the people of Clacton to decide if they still had faith in him, and declared that they did after he won the by-election his resignation triggered with a larger majority than in 2024.

The parliamentary standards commissioner had to pause the investigation into whether Mr Farage had broken Commons rules by failing to declare the money when he resigned, but shortly after he won the by-election, it was announced the inquiry has been resumed - in keeping with the rules.

Baroness Harman said: "The standards commissioner will decide whether or not it's a breach of the code - I would think it's almost inevitable it is, and almost inevitable that he would decide it's a serious breach.

"I think it's most likely the standards commissioner would propose a sanction which is more than a 10-day suspension from the Commons - which would trigger the possibility of a recall petition, where if 10% of the voters in Clacton vote for a recall petition that will trigger another by-election."

She added she thinks 10% would be reached judging by the 26.7% of voters who chose Count Binface rather than Mr Farage in this week's by-election.

And Baroness Harman said she thinks all the main parties would stand a candidate, unlike this time when they boycotted it.

"I think at that point it will have been established that he has broken the rules seriously in relation to trying to keep this £5m secret, that the voters in Clacton, if they re-elect him don't care about that," she said.

"But I think voters in other parts of the country might not agree with the voters of Clacton and might think this man is not suitable to be prime minister."

Pollster Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common, also told the podcast there is a danger for Mr Farage in accepting the £5m in that people will see him as "the same as the rest of the political class", when he has tried to appear anti-establishment.

He added: "I think that the danger of this £5m is that people compare it to things like the freebies, they compare it to some of those, I mean, I've had groups where people have compared it to the PPE scandal, and they just start to go, 'oh, goodness, this is going to be more of the same as well'."

(c) Sky News 2026: Why Farage may face a second by-election despite Clacton win