Labour MPs have been mulling over whether they can block Nigel Farage's by-election in Clacton after the Reform UK leader dared the political establishment to take him on at the ballot box.
Mr Farage, who resigned as the MP for Clacton yesterday, set out his stall for why voters in his seaside seat should decide his political future.
He said: "I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions."
However, Mr Farage could be blocked from triggering a by-election after MPs last night held talks to amend the motion which formally sets the date for a snap contest.
"Farage should be forced to stay in his seat until the parliamentary standards commissioner's investigation is completed," one Labour MP told The Times.
Labour minister Chris Bryant added: "The Chancellor refused to appoint Henry Cadogan MP for Reading to the Chiltern Hundreds in 1842 because he believed the MP was attempting to vacate his seat to conceal corrupt financial compromises and electoral bribery."
MPs could prevent a by-election taking place in Clacton when Reform UK Chief Whip Lee Anderson looks to "move the writ".
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is obliged to put the question to MPs, with a vote in agreement making the motion an Order for the Speaker.
The Speaker is only then able to issue a Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown, who sends the writ to the returning officer.
Announcing his intention to trigger a by-election, Mr Farage said: “This will be a people versus the establishment by-election.
"It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go."
Reform UK figures have also railed against the main parties for failing to field candidates, accusing the so-called establishment of "bottling it", "chickening out" and being "cowards".
FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…
'They KNOW they'd lose!' Zia Yusuf takes aim at mainstream parties for refusing to stand in by-election in blistering takedown
Reform UK's Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has taken aim at the mainstream parties for refusing to a stand a candidate in the Clacton by-election.
Asked why he believed the main parties have opted out of challenging Mr Farage, he told GB News: "Well, there's clearly only one possible reason why.
"The entire political establishment - Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems, the Greens - are refusing to stand against Nigel Farage in this upcoming by-election simply because they know that they would lose.
"You think that Labour and the Tories, if they thought they had even a modicum of a chance of unseating the man who has been the thorn in their side for decades? You think they wouldn't take that shot?"
Nearly a third of Britons believe media coverage is biased against Nigel Farage, new poll shows
Nearly a third of Britons believe media coverage is biased against Nigel Farage, a new poll shows.
The Reform UK leader triggered a by-election in a speech where he said: "For over 20 years now, I have been subject to constant demonization by the press."
Around 29 per cent of Britons say the media is generally biased against him, snap polling from YouGov has revealed.
Some 24 per cent believe the media is fair and blaanced in their coverage of Mr Farage, while 18 per cent claim the Reform candidate is the "recipient of an overly sympathetic media environment".
Three quarters of those who back Reform say that he is the victim of biased reporting, while 51 per cent of Tories think the same.
Meanwhile, only nine to 15 per cent of the left-leaning parties, including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, believe this to be true.
Green voters think the media environment tilts in favour of their right-wing rival, while the Liberal Democrats are the party that is most likely to say that the media has been fair and balanced (42 per cent).
ANALYSIS: 'I've crunched the numbers on the Clacton by-election – here's what it means for Nigel Farage,' Sir John Curtice writes for GB News
Mr Farage has seemingly been quiet in the last few weeks. Some were speculating that perhaps he was losing his appetite for the fight, as media stories about his sources of funding began to multiply.
Meanwhile, his party’s lead in the polls has narrowed somewhat as a result of the modest boost that Labour have enjoyed since Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation.
But in declaring his decision to resign as the MP for Clacton Mr Farage has once again demonstrated his remarkable ability to steal the limelight.
It ensures that the arrival of Andy Burnham in Downing Street will not be the only political story filling the political void during the quietude of the August holiday season.
'Good luck to him!' Defence Secretary issues message of support to Count Binface ahead of Clacton by-election
Dan Jarvis has wished Count Binface 'good luck'
| GETTYThe Defence Secretary has issued a message of support to Nigel Farage's sole competitor ahead of the Clacton by-election.
Commenting on the Reform UK leader's resignation as MP, Dan Jarvis said: "I don't think that has played out particularly well for him. I don't think it's been well received.
"I've had some quite interesting feedback from my constituents that this is just a complete circus and a complete waste of time.
"Looks like Count Binface will be sort of stepping forward, and good luck to him."
Almost 50 per cent of British public oppose Nigel Farage calling by-election
Almost 50 per cent of the British public oppose Nigel Farage calling a by-election in his Clacton constituency.
Pollsters at YouGov have revealed that 43 per cent of Britons disagree with the plans, while 24 per cent back his bid to do so.
Who's standing? All the political parties that have RULED OUT standing in 'fake' by-election against Nigel Farage
After Nigel Farage resigned as MP for Clacton yesterday, all the main political parties' decisions on whether they were going to field a candidate dribbled out throughout the afternoon.
Labour and the Tories both refused standing candidates against the Reform UK leader, with Kemi Badenoch ripping into Mr Farage's "hissy fit".
Mrs Badenoch said: “We will be standing a candidate in the real by-election, which will follow the standards investigation into Nigel Farage’s fishy finances.
"We will not be standing a candidate in the fake by-election that Farage is causing to distract people from what is happening."
Similarly, Restore Britain's Rupert Lowe refused to field a candidate, adding a candidate will stand "when the investigations into Farage’s finances conclude as we all suspect they will".
And, late last night, the Greens' newest MP Hannah Spencer said: "It has been really difficult. We’re a party that does things differently… we do have internal democracy.
“We try to have healthy debates and discussions, and ultimately, we care really deeply about people in Clacton.
“And our local party have decided, as a whole, all of us, that we won’t be standing a candidate in the by-election."
RECAP: Nigel Farage resigns as Clacton MP to trigger 'people versus establishment by-election'
Nigel Farage announced he is stepping down as MP for Clacton, triggering a by-election | REFORM UKYesterday, Nigel Farage resigned as an MP to stand in the upcoming by-election in his Clacton constituency in a
The Reform UK leader, who was first elected as the MP for Clacton in 2024, described the imminent vote in his seaside seat as "a people versus the establishment by-election".
Mr Farage fell under pressure amid revelations about his personal funding ahead of the 2024 General Election, including a £5million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
The investigation, which was being conducted by Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg, could even force Mr Farage to hold a by-election if the complaint is eventually upheld.