Farage has drink thrown on him at Clacton election launch

Two people have been arrested after Nigel Farage had a drink thrown over him while launching his personal election campaign in Clacton.

The Reform UK leader was leaving a pub after carrying out media interviews when a woman appeared to launch the drink over his face and suit jacket.

Essex Police said a 25-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of assault.

While making the arrest, the force said a man was also detained on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

“Both individuals remain in custody for questioning,” a police spokesperson said.

The politician was walking to the Reform UK party bus at the time.

Mr Farage previously said he would not stand in the general election, before Monday’s U-turn, when he announced his candidacy in the Essex seat.

Prior to the drink incident, Mr Farage said “you will no longer be ignored” as he spoke on the seafront in Clacton-on-Sea.

The constituency, which became the first seat in the UK to elect a UKIP MP in 2014, had a Conservative majority of 24,702 at the last general election in 2019 when Giles Watling was re-elected.

Mr Farage, formerly the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Brexit Party, told a crowd of people that he would spend “a considerable amount of my time with you fighting for those who don’t have their voice”.

“I hope that having a national figure representing this constituency will put Clacton on the map,” said Mr Farage, who is also now Reform UK’s party leader.

“No longer will you be ignored; I hope I can get investment that will bring jobs.

“I will stand up and fight for you… send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance.”

Addressing the rally, Mr Farage said the Tories should “pay a big price” for betraying the promises of Brexit.

Giles Watling reclaimed the seat for the Conservatives in 2017 with a 15,828 majority, and held it with an increased majority in 2019. He is standing again, having won a reselection contest within the local Conservative Association last year.

Mr Watling told BBC Essex that Mr Farage “doesn’t give two hoots” about the constituency, which also includes the seaside towns of Frinton and Walton, and villages inland including St Osyth, Tendring and Wix.

“This is all about Nigel, as ever,” said the former actor, who appeared in 1980s BBC sitcom Bread.

“I don’t want to see the residents of Clacton-on-Sea taken for granted and sacrificed on the altar of his vanity.”

Mr Watling said he felt it was his job to “transform Clacton’s future” by using government funding he had secured.

Labour candidate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul said Britain was “crying out for change” as the party fought for every seat.

“The only way to bring about change is by voting the Tories out and electing a new Labour government,” he said.

The other candidates announced as standing in Clacton so far are:

• Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrats

• Natasha Osben, Green Party

By Ben Schofield, BBC political correspondent, East of England

Even before Mr Farage’s “emergency” press conference on Monday, bookies had slashed the odds of Reform UK winning Clacton.

Without hearing the announcement, punters were apparently predicting that Mr Farage would change his mind about standing in a constituency, as well as the seat he would choose.

But what issues could Clacton’s next MP face?

It had one of the highest pro-Leave votes in the country in the Brexit referendum.

While parts of the constituency are relatively affluent, such as Frinton-on-Sea, it is also home to some of the UK’s most deprived areas and the local economy is heavily reliant on tourism, with almost one million people visiting Clacton Pier in 2022 for example.

Average weekly earnings of those living in the constituency were £593 in 2023, far behind the Eastern average of £706. A higher proportion of 16-64 year olds claim out-of-work benefits than the regional average – 4.9% in April 2024 compared to 3.1% across the East region.