What next for Nigel Farage after beating Count Binface to become MP once more?

This time last year, Nigel Farage was the man of the hour in British politics.

His party, Reform UK, was dominating in the polls, Farage and his colleagues were effectively shaping the national conversation - with Keir Starmer's government in reactive mode - and many commentators strongly argued that a Reform government was inevitable.

Today the situation is quite different.

The Reform leader's very political future hangs in the balance as a result of a parliamentary investigation into a gift of £5m ($6.74m), which Farage had received from Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne and didn't disclose.

It was because of this that Farage resigned as MP for the seaside town of Clacton last month in order to trigger a by-election.

In the early hours of Friday, it emerged he had won the by-election with 22,239 votes, a 1,000-vote increase on his 2024 majority, and on a lower turnout.

But what exactly has this achieved?

"Let me be absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong," Farage declared when he resigned. "I have decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions."

But the contest swiftly descended into farce after all the mainstream parties decided to boycott it. In the end, there were 34 candidates standing - an eclectic array of independents, small parties and joke candidates, including three from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Farage's main rival ended up being a man dressed as a bin, who says he is an intergalactic space warrior and calls himself Count Binface. He won a remarkable 9,455 votes (26.9 percent of the vote share to Farage's 63.3 percent), an unusually good result for a joke candidate.

Hollow victory

This meant that Farage's victory rings hollow. He labelled Binface the "establishment candidate", but this is unlikely to prove a convincing narrative to the general public.

Speaking at the vote count, Binface responded to Farage's accusation by suggesting that "someone [Farage] who has been an MP, been an MEP, who was one of the chief architects of Brexit and one of the dominant figures in British politics over the last 20 years, and is reputedly a member of the East India gentleman's club, which apparently does not admit women - I would say that's arguably slightly more establishment than a lone wolf space warrior with a Ceefax fixation.

"But you know what? It's up to you."

Farage himself was absent from the count. Perhaps he was unkeen on being photographed next to Binface. He cited police advice about a "campaign to disrupt" the result, but acting returning officer Ian Davidson said it was Farage's personal decision "whether or not to attend".

Instead, the Reform leader was at "Farage Fest", a celebration on a farm on Clacton's outskirts, which included festival tents and a ferris wheel. He declared a "resounding victory" and said that "the result in Clacton speaks for itself".

Is it really a resounding victory? The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is defining the national conversation. Labour is enjoying a healthy bounce in the polls. There are even whispers that Burnham could call a snap general election in the autumn if the polling continues to look good.

Farage is no longer the one setting the tone of the national discourse and the terms of the debate. He appears to be very much on the back foot.

He will need something more than this win if he wants to restore the strength and relevance of Reform's platform of national renewal and mass deportations.

But now Farage is an MP again, the parliamentary investigation into his £5m gift has resumed and hangs over his head once more. Whether he survives this politically remains to be seen.

Count Binface, meanwhile, has declared victory: "I came first in the Clacton by-election! Of the candidates who bothered to turn up for the results."