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On August 14 1967, the hugely popular pirate ship Radio Caroline, anchored off Clacton, was forced to leave British territorial waters by the Labour government’s Marine Offences Act, passed to preserve the BBC’s stifling monopoly of the airwaves.

On August 14 2026, Nigel Farage struck a blow for populism, winning the Clacton by-election against a political Establishment trying desperately to preserve their own monopoly and force him to sail off into the sunset.

Caroline continued pumping out wall-to-wall pop music from outside the 12-mile limit. The government pulled out all the stops to shut it down, including jamming its broadcast frequency.

There are parallels today with the Establishment’s determination to crush Farage. Within minutes of the result, the Parliamentary Standards Committee re-opened an inquiry into a £5million gift he received from a crypto billionaire before he returned to the political fray. They were always going to.

Farage maintains his only mistake was not filling in a declaration required of all MPs and covering the 12 months prior to election. He says his lawyers advised him it wasn’t necessary.

Rather than submit to an Establishment kangaroo court, the Reform leader decided to let the people of Clacton pass judgment. On Friday, they delivered him an increased share of the vote.

The Establishment’s reaction: The people have spoken, the bastards. They dismissed the by-election as a farce, because Farage only faced 33 joke candidates – including the ludicrous Count Binface, lauded by the Left-wing media as a serious challenger.

If what Farage calls the ‘Uniparty’ believe in democracy, they should have stood candidates against him. Instead they were, in the words of Margaret Thatcher, ‘frit’. They knew he’d beat them convincingly.

Facing the Parliamentary Standards Committee, Nigel Farage maintains his only mistake was not filling in a declaration required of all MPs and covering the 12 months prior to election

They dismissed the by-election as a farce, because Farage only faced 33 joke candidates – including the ludicrous Count Binface, writes Richard Littlejohn

Let them answer this: if Clacton was a farce, what does that say about the Makerfield by-election? That was called cynically to smooth Andy Burnham’s passage back to Westminster.

It was unnecessary as it already had a sitting MP – whom we are reliably informed is to be elevated to the Lords and rewarded with a six-figure job in government for standing down in favour of Burnham.

Why the hell isn’t there a Parliamentary Standards inquiry into this disgraceful abuse of power?

Andy Pandy only polled a couple of thousand votes more than Farage, but he is hailed as the Messiah and ushered in unopposed as Prime Minister, without any mandate or facing a general election.

But Farage is treated almost uniquely as a pariah, by the Establishment, Left-wing broadcast media and, increasingly, the Boys In The Bubble.

When news of the £5million donation broke, I wrote that he had questions to answer. Yes, it’s an enormous sum, but it was a private gift to spend as he chooses.

Farage says it will pay for his security for the rest of his life. No politician has faced more threats, nor been more courageous. Yet despite his party winning four million votes at the last election, the State has consistently denied him protection.

So he has to pay for it himself. I’ve had a few proper lunches with him over the years and I know how much the Range Rover and the three big buggers from the special forces at the next table cost. Over the years, five mill won’t go all that far.

After the onslaught against him in recent weeks, ratings have fallen nationally but Reform still commands the support of a quarter of the electorate, says Littlejohn

As for failing to attend the count, he tells me that at 7pm on Thursday night, Essex Police told his security team there was a credible threat and they advised him to stay away.

I’ve known him for 25 years and I believe him, whatever Essex Plod say officially.

Why take the risk when anti-terror police have reopened an investigation into a firebomb attempt at his home, especially in the wake of the murder of Reform’s Ann Widdecombe?

This isn’t over yet. The Establishment will continue their efforts to destroy Farage, just as they eventually forced Radio Caroline off air. Don’t be surprised if the Parliamentary Standards Committee has already reached its verdict of Guilty.

After the onslaught against him in recent weeks, his ratings have fallen nationally but Reform still commands the support of a quarter of the electorate.

If there’s a second by-election triggered by the parliamentary verdict, he’ll win that, too. There’s plenty of life in this political pirate yet.