Farage Resigns Over Crypto Donation, By-Election Set

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage resigned his seat as MP for Clacton on Monday, triggering a by-election he says he will contest. The move follows a formal probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards into an undisclosed $6.7 million (5 million pounds) gift from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Farage said the people of Clacton should be the judges of his actions. “This will be a people-versus-the-establishment by-election,” he said.

The resignation came as watchdogs examined whether Farage breached parliamentary rules by lobbying the Bank of England to drop its digital pound framework. That policy shift would directly benefit Harborne’s private crypto investments, critics said.

The Harborne Connection

Harborne, a convicted crypto entrepreneur, has been a longtime donor to Farage’s political operation. The controversy deepened after reports that Farage’s aide George Cottrell, who served time in the U.S. for wire fraud and money laundering before moving into crypto gambling, also provided substantial benefits to the party.

Opposition leaders accused Farage of pulling a stunt to preempt a parliamentary standards investigation that could have led to his suspension. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the resignation a “gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations of sleaze.” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed it as an “ego-driven hissy fit.”