LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage says the political establishment is out to stop him. But the Reform UK leader’s attempt to prove it has not gone to plan.
Facing awkward questions about his finances, the anti-immigration politician dramatically announced that he’s quitting Parliament in order to run again, a move critics denounced as a ploy to dodge a parliamentary probe. His resignation as a lawmaker became official on Wednesday.
Farage said the special election will be “people versus the establishment.” But his opponents aren't playing ball. All the major political parties say they will not field candidates against Farage, leaving him to run all but unopposed.
The gambit could backfire further if an investigation into his finances continues and creates a scenario requiring a second special election.
Here’s what to know about a dramatic development in British politics and what comes next.
Farage only became a British lawmaker two years ago, winning election to Parliament after seven failed attempts, and has led a series of fractious hard-right political parties. But he is arguably one of the most influential politicians of recent decades.
His obsession with taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union helped turn Brexit from a fringe cause to a reality. More recently, he has tapped into anxieties about immigration and social change in a way that echoes his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump, and European populists.
Farage has capitalized on — critics say stoked — concerns about migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, which he has called an invasion, and alleges that white people face discrimination from police.
Reform UK holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, but consistently leads opinion polls and was the big winner in local and regional elections in May that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the hands of his own Labour Party.
If the pattern holds, Farage could become prime minister after the next election, due by 2029.
Farage has many sources of income other than a lawmaker’s salary, including hawking gold bullion, hosting a TV current affairs show, public speaking and recording personal video messages on the Cameo website.
Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating a potentially rule-breaking donation of 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says the money was a personal gift he used to fund his personal security and came before he was elected to the House of Commons. Newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) received in the previous 12 months if they are related to political activities.
Farage is also facing questions about his financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur who served a U.S. prison sentence for fraud.
A finding of wrongdoing could lead to Farage being suspended from Parliament, which in turn could trigger a special election for his seaside seat of Clacton in eastern England.
Rather than await the outcome, Farage made the first move by triggering an election himself.
But if Farage wins, as seems highly likely, the standards inquiry is set to resume. If it finds Farage broke the rules, there could be another Clacton election within months.
Farage has said he is frustrated and fed up with politics. He has a history of walking away from parties he led. He stepped down from both the UK Independence Party and its successor, the Brexit Party, in the last decade.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, says he suspects Farage will stay put to lead Reform into the next election.
“Fighting and winning a by-election is perhaps his best hope of suggesting to people that he is still very much a man alone, fighting the establishment,” Bale said.
Farage insists he has “done nothing wrong” and is the victim of dirty tricks by his political foes and “constant demonization” by the media.
Bale said the snap election allows him to distract attention away from allegations about his finances. But he said Farage risks being seen “as a self-pitying, angry guy on an ego trip who is determined to distract people from some awkward facts.”
Opponents called the move a stunt and a sign Farage is on the ropes. Reform UK has lost three consecutive special elections that it hoped to win, a possible sign its support may be sagging. The most recent loss was to Labour’s Andy Burnham, who is all but certain to succeed Starmer as prime minister within weeks.
Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party all said they would not run against Farage.
“He’s run himself into a cul-de-sac and it was a stunt," Starmer said Wednesday. The prime minister said Farage is "up to his neck in sleaze and he doesn’t want to answer questions about it.”
So far only one candidate has announced plans to run against Farage: Count Binface, a comedian with a trash can on his head.
Jon Harvey is the man under the can, a self-described 5,000-year-old intergalactic space warrior who is a perennial candidate with no expectation of winning in the U.K.'s highest-profile elections. He has run against former Conservative Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and, most recently, Burnham.
Dressed like a character in a low-budget sci-fi film, Binface offers offbeat policies catering to locals, such as synchronizing traffic lights on a particularly busy street or moving the hand dryer in the Crown & Treaty Pub in Uxbridge “to a more sensible location.” A standing pledge is to cap croissant prices at 1.10 pounds ($1.47).
Binface told the BBC on Wednesday that his main appeal in Clacton would be that "I’m not Nigel Farage.” He said the lack of other candidates said more about them than him.
“Are they running scared from old Binny, or do they think that Nigel’s running a cunning stunt?" he said.
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
FILE - Independent candidate Count Binface speaks to a journalist as he arrives for the vote count in Britain's general election at the Richmond and Northallerton count center in Northallerton, England, Friday July 5, 2024. (Temilade Adelaja, Pool via AP, file)
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to help counter Russian missile attacks, a huge coup for Ukraine which has badly needed the technology for the war now in its fifth year.
“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Turkey. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”
Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce. Zelenskyy has for years been asking for more of them, and more recently for a license so that Ukraine can manufacture its own.
The tone of Trump's meeting with the Ukrainian leader was a break from earlier encounters which ended in acrimony, and Trump praised Zelenskyy's willingness to reach a deal on ending the fighting in Ukraine.
He said the Ukrainian president has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.
“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said, adding he believed a deal on ending the war was on the horizon and that the U.S. would “work on some kind of security package” to provide to Ukraine.
Trump wasn't as friendly with some of his NATO partners, saying he was unhappy with the alliance for pushing back against his efforts to take control of Greenland and for not supporting his war in Iran.
NATO's European members plus Canada have scrambled to meet the increased defense spending targets Trump has demanded, as the U.S. draws down the number of troops it has in Europe and insists the continent take more responsibility for its own security.
But Trump reopened old wounds as he arrived at the meeting of 32 NATO leaders by insisting again that the United States should control Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. He blasted some European countries for refusing to participate in the Iran campaign, singling out Spain as “a terrible partner in NATO” and renewing his threats to cut off trade.
Ahead of the summit, Trump said Greenland “is very important” for the U.S. but not for Denmark, declaring, “We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States.”
But Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack, and would rely on NATO allies to honor their commitment to defend each other.
Trump’s criticisms have in the past drawn European countries closer together as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and threats from Russia.
The president's renewed interest in Greenland could put at risk the entire future of NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte sought to tamp down the president's ire by giving him credit for recent increases in defense spending from NATO allies.
“Grab the win. It’s there,” Rutte told Trump on Wednesday.
Ahead of the summit, Rutte praised Trump for the series of U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, after Tehran struck three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte said to Trump. “It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this.”
The U.S. strikes, as well as the revoking of a license allowing Iran to sell its oil on global markets, underscored the fragility of an interim deal to end months of fighting.
Trump said of the interim agreement with Iran: “For me, I think it’s over” — but added he will allow talks to continue.
“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said.
Rutte has dedicated a huge amount of energy to keeping Trump's support for NATO and to holding the summit together.
The NATO chief pointed to countries including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Denmark that are investing more in defense, but noted the Trump administration expects “the Europeans and Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States.”
Last month Rutte went to Washington to hail the “Trump Trillion” — the $1.2 trillion that European allies and Canada have added to defense spending since Trump came to power in 2017.
As leaders converged on Ankara, Rutte hosted a “big reveal” event to showcase the many deals planned for the increased spending — much of it to be spent on U.S. companies, creating thousands of jobs for Americans.
At last year's summit, the allies agreed to invest 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — 3.5% on their defense budgets and 1.5% on infrastructure so troops and equipment can move faster in times of conflict.
Yet figures released by NATO on Tuesday showed that Slovenia, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic have struggled to meet the alliance’s old spending target of 2% of GDP.
The Trump administration wants to see a leaner “NATO 3.0,” with Europe taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, with conventional weapons while America would continue to provide its nuclear umbrella.
The Pentagon has launched a six-month review of U.S. military presence in Europe, leaving allies to seek clarity on just how deeply Trump intends to cut U.S. force numbers.
Zelenskyy made a fresh appeal Tuesday for Ukraine to be allowed to join the alliance, saying Ukrainian armed forces are highly experienced and would only boost NATO’s defense capabilities.
He's highlighted Ukraine’s adaptability and its ability to strike deep inside Russia. He said Ukraine’s armed forces are “eliminating” on average 30,000 Russian troops every month.
In a declaration following Wednesday's summit, NATO leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with $80 billion to help meet its defense needs this year and next, noting “the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.”
Concern has been mounting among some countries with borders near Russia that Moscow might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.
Trump also met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated autocrat Bashar Assad in December 2024. Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s backing as he seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its shattered ties with the West.
When asked whether he would remove Syria from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, Trump said: “I think I will. Why wouldn't I? He's done a great job.”
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Associated Press journalists Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen makes statements before the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Filip Singer, Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks out from his car window as he arrives for the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Metin Aktaş, Pool Photo via AP)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center, poses with NATO defense ministers and industry representatives during the opening of the NATO Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks at the opening of the NATO Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during a formal welcome for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Two men walk past the NATO logo during the NATO Defense Industry Forum at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
