Clacton Deserves an Election, Not a Political Boycott
Clacton Deserves an Election, Not a Political Boycott Nigel Farage resigning as MP for Clacton and forcing a by-election looks, to many, like political theatre. It is difficult to see it any other way. He is under serious scrutiny over a reported £5 million personal gift from Christopher Harborne, with questions raised about whether it should have been declared and what the money was for. Farage denies wrongdoing and insists there is no case to answer. That matters. Allegations are not convictions, and scrutiny is not guilt. But the timing is politically obvious. A damaging story is circling, pressure is building, and suddenly the people of Clacton are being asked to act as a jury in a by-election Farage himself has engineered. So yes, criticism of Farage is fair. Calling it a stunt is fair. Calling it a hissy fit, as Kemi Badenoch reportedly has, may be politically blunt, but it is not difficult to understand the sentiment. But that is not the real issue. The real issue is this:...