As expected

 

As expected

As expected, and gloomily predicted, the previous incumbent of the Clacton constituency has once again been voted into power. Count Binface came a creditable second, winning 26% of the total vote and retaining his deposit.

Nigel Farage refused to attend the count, claiming that there was a credible threat of violence against him and that the police had advised him to stay away. The police deny that allegation.

It seems at least probable that he did not wish to face the humiliation of sharing the platform with so many people keen to prick the balloon of pomposity that often surrounds such occasions. Regardless, the Parliamentary inquiry into his affairs will recommence, with the possibility that he will be found in breach of parliamentary standards and be suspended from parliament. That could trigger another by-election!

The political cartoon by Morten Morland shows the Returning Officer (the person who announces the results) saying, ‘The People of Clacton have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the standards commissioner completing the investigation into Nigel Paul Farage.’

The day before this farcical by-election, Ann Widdecombe, who was murdered in July, was laid to rest. Like her or loathe her views, she was as straight as a die, a woman of profound faith who worked hard for her constituents. 

What a contrast!