British public more likely to prefer Count Binface wins Clacton by-election than Nigel Farage
· In a hypothetical forced choice head-to-head, 1 in 3 British adults (33%) would prefer Count Binface to win the Clacton by-election, giving him a 12ppt lead over Farage (21%). 32% say neither. 13% don’t know.
· Nearly 3 in 4 (74%) state that the parliamentary standards commissioner should be investigating whether the Reform UK leader broke parliamentary rules.
· 73% say investigation should continue even if Farage wins the by-election.
Public backing for parliamentary standards investigation
· 16% think Nigel Farage is right to resign as an MP and stand for re-election to parliament in the resulting by-election. 16% think he should have continued as an MP. 54% think he should resign and leave parliament.
· 74% state the standards commissioner should be investigating whether Mr. Farage broke rules by failing to declare a £5m gift received from a Reform UK donor before his election.
· 73% of the public believe the investigation should continue even if Farage wins the upcoming by-election, compared to 15% who think it should not continue in these circumstances.
· Meanwhile, the population is split on whether other parties should field candidates: 32% think other main political parties should not stand candidates, whereas 31% believe they should stand.
Public prefer Count Binface to win in Clacton over Nigel Farage
· When asked about the Clacton contest, 1 in 3 British adults (33%) would prefer Count Binface to win, while 21% prefer Nigel Farage and 32% choose neither. 13% don’t know.
· 69% support Count Binface’s policy of restoring the price of a 99p flake to 99p, and 53% back capping croissant prices at £1.
· However, other proposed policies have more middling support, with 36% opposing forcing rule-breaking cyclists to ride unicycles. Perhaps surprisingly, just 32% support abolishing VAR, compared to 21% who support abolishing the football technology.
Anti-establishment sentiment and novelty candidate policy appeal
Disaffection with mainstream political brands correlates with high openness to alternative options and satirical platforms.
· 3 in 5 (62%) view the Conservative Party as on the side of "the establishment", followed by 2 in 5 (41%) for the ruling Labour Party.
· Conversely, around 4 in 10 British adults (39%) think the Green Party is on the side of "the people", followed by the Liberal Democrats at 33% and Reform UK at 28%.
Commenting on the findings, Keiran Pedley, Research Director at Ipsos in the UK said:
Of course, it is the people of Clacton that will vote in the upcoming by-election and not the public overall. But the fact that just one in five Britons would prefer Nigel Farage win reflects how his personal poll ratings have fallen over the past year – even if Reform supporters remain very much behind him. Elsewhere in the poll we see strong support for parliamentary standards investigations continuing even if Mr Farage wins the by-election. Suggesting his assumed victory will not make these issues go away.
Notes:
· For media queries, please contact the Ipsos in the UK Press Office at [email protected]
· For the full findings, please visit the Ipsos website.
· Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 online British adults aged 18–75. Polling was conducted online between 8–9 July 2026.
· Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
