Lincolnshire candidate says ‘I got 19 votes standing against Nigel Farage, and I don’t regret it’
A Lincolnshire man who stood in the Clacton by-election says his 19 votes were better value for money than Nigel Farage’s.
The Reform UK leader won the race caused by his own resignation, beating a record 33 other candidates, despite all the other main political parties boycotting the poll.
Amongst the comedy figures like Count Binface, who came second with over 9,000 votes to Farage’s 22,000, and Nick The Incredible Flying Brick, was retired Lincolnshire assistant headteacher Michael O’Keeffe.
He finished 24th in the race – his first entry into politics – but describes the campaign as a valuable learning experience, and says he may stand again.
The independent candidate, from Horbling, near Sleaford, spent most of the last month in the Essex constituency, hoping to persuade voters there was a “better type of politics”.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get my £500 deposit back by winning five percent of the votes, I was doing it to show a politician can listen to people’s concerns and find sensible solutions,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“The Clacton people were totally disgusted with the circus. Many people told me they resented the narrative that it was Nigel Farage versus a bin.
“The votes reflected how much money and publicity candidates had. I didn’t put any real money into the campaign – my effort was in footfall and talking to people.
“I probably spoke to more people than any other candidate.
“Unfortunately, my car broke down the week of the election so I missed two vital days in Clacton. I printed 1,000 leaflets and still have 300 of them.
“Reform had a massive army of people from all across the country. They must have spent a lot of money to get those 22,000 votes.
“Farage’s supporters see him as a messianic figure – their passion was in a different league to anything else.”
Nigel Farage didn’t appear at the count, which ran into the early hours of Friday morning, saying he didn’t want to be “demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”, while also claiming there may have been plans to disrupt the declaration of results.
Mr O’Keeffe described this as a “slap in the face for Clacton”.
“The count itself was the definition of boring – it took hours to count the ballots because of how absolutely massive they were.
“It was clear from the start Farage had won. He had a huge pile, Count Binface had a second one, and the rest of us were a much smaller third pile.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get much coverage, I was just a name on a paper to most people.
“I’m quite surprised I got beaten by some very strange local characters with questionable views, though.”
Clacton voters may return to the polls again if a Parliamentary investigation into Farage’s finances leads to him being sanctioned and another by-election.
Mr O’Keeffe says he may consider standing again, saying: “I am certainly wiser after the election, and have learnt the ins and outs of campaigning.”