Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said on Tuesday (July 7) he would quit as a lawmaker to trigger a by-election in his parliamentary seat and would stand for re-election in that vote.

Farage, a leading campaigner for Brexit, has become increasingly irritable over questions on both his personal finances and those of his party, which has led in almost every opinion poll for more than a year.

He has denied any impropriety in his financial dealings, but after staging almost weekly press conferences, his appearances in public have dwindled of late and in recent days he has complained about reporters harassing his family.

Farage, 62, is being investigated by parliament's standards watchdog over a £5 million ($6.69 million) gift from a billionaire crypto investor who his critics say was not properly disclosed. It has yet to rule on the case.

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Reform UK leader Farage announces resignation as MP, intends to stand in by-election

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM REFORM UK LEADER NIGEL FARAGE ANNOUNCING RESIGNATION AS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, TRIGGERING A BY-ELECTION

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 7, 2026) (REFORM HANDOUT - Access All)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REFORM UK LEADER, NIGEL FARAGE, SAYING:

"I've thought about it hard, and I've decided today, today, I will resign as a Member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a by-election, which should happen, I hope, in short order. Now, I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people-versus-the-establishment by-election. It's a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go. And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election. I will fight to win, I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started. And I would say this to you, the voters of Clacton. If I win, you win. Because if I lose, they win, and we will never, with the two old parties, get the type of fundamental change that we need to fix broken Britain."