Nigel Farage vs ‘trash can’: Hard-right leader's UK poll gambit could see him face one challenger... Count Binface

The dramatic resignation by Nigel Farage, a leader of Britain's populist Reform UK, triggered a poll gamble, which now seems to have backfired.

Farage's resignation follows an election for his own parliamentary seat, which could mean the only opponent he may face during campaigning is a man with a trash can on his head, better known as Count Binface.

In a televised address on Tuesday, the leader of the hard-right Reform UK party said he was resigning as the member of parliament for Clacton, the constituency he has represented since July 2024.

The announcement came as Farage, 62, is under investigation in parliament over millions of pounds of gifts from wealthy backers. The probe relates to probe the non-disclosure of a £5 million ($6.6 million) donation from Thailand-based crypto-currency billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Farage, whose party leads national opinion polls, also faces scrutiny over separate alleged gifts from George Cottrell, a 32-year-old crypto entrepreneur previously convicted of fraud.

Farage insists he has done nothing wrong and accused opponents in parliament of using sleaze investigations as a "political tool" against him, according to AFP.

The government on Wednesday granted Farage's request to quit, and a by-election should take place within 35 days.

Farage said he wants voters in his Clacton electoral district, in southeast England, to judge his actions, not what he characterises as a liberal "establishment" bent on discrediting him, Reuters reported.

His surprise move threatened to backfire Wednesday after other heavyweight parties confirmed they would not contest the vote for Farage's seat in southeast England.

Count Binface, a self-described "intergalactic space warrior", is the only other person to have said so far that they would run.

Who is Count Binface?

One person has come forward to declare he will challenge Farage: Count Binface, the alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, who regularly runs in UK elections with his trash-can shaped head and long cape.

"I will be a unity candidate and pledge to build at least one affordable house," he wrote in a post on X on Tuesday, adding of Farage: "Leave him to me."

Meanwhile, finance minister Rachel Reeves said on X, “If he [Farage] wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won't stop him.”

Binface won 95 votes, a 0.2 percent share, when he ran against Britain's likely next prime minister Andy Burnham in a by-election in Makerfield near Manchester last month.

His manifesto for that campaign included forcing cyclists who break traffic laws to ride unicycles instead, and capping the cost of a croissant at £1 ($1.3).

Farage comfortably won Clacton in 2024 with a majority of 8,405 and more than 46 percent of the vote.

What happens next?

Farage could face a serious challenge when an independent candidate announces a run, similar to former BBC journalist Martin Bell who successfully won a parliamentary seat in 1997.

Polling expert John Curtice told the BBC that Farage had been hoping for a "very substantial political circus" but may end up with a "relatively damp squib" if no one challenges him properly.

If Farage is re-elected, then the probe would likely start up again.

If Farage is found to have breached the rules, he could be suspended from the House of Commons, and another by-election may be triggered.