Nigel Farage Resigns as MP Amid Crypto ‘Gift’ Scandal, Will Stand in By-Election
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK’s Reform party, announced that he would resign as a member of Parliament and stand in the by-election that could replace him.
On Tuesday, Farage announced that he would resign as MP representing Clacton in response to what he called “foul means” by established politicians. The UK lawmaker’s resignation followed reports that he had personally received millions of dollars’ worth of donations and gifts from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster linked to a crypto casino.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong,” said Farage in an X livestream. “I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money.”
Source: Nigel Farage
Farage already had ties to the crypto industry before reports of the scandal. He spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas and is an investor in London-listed Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company Stack. When reports began circulating in May that the Reform leader had received a $6.7 million gift from Harborne, he initially called it a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit, the 2016 referendum that led to the UK’s exit from the European Union.
Related: Crypto billionaires bankroll Nigel Farage’s pro-crypto party
The UK lawmaker confirmed that he was the subject of two probes by the UK’s parliamentary standards commissioner following reports of what he called “gifts” from Harborne and Cottrell, which he claimed were given “on an unconditional basis.”
He said that he would use Harborne’s gift for funding related to his security, describing threats and attacks, and that the by-election triggered by his resignation would give voters the opportunity to choose whether or not he will continue to represent them:
“I’ve decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions […] I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election.”
According to The London Standard, the election determining Farage’s fate as an MP could take weeks or months given the logistics of his stepping down and calling for a by-election. He won in Clacton with 46.2% of the vote in July 2024 against the Conservative and Labour candidates.
Countdown to US elections with crypto money hanging over candidates
While Farage faces probes in the UK, money from crypto companies and figures tied to the industry could continue to influence US races in November’s midterm elections.
According to a June report from US consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, the crypto industry had spent about $189 million to support candidates considered favorable to digital asset policies as part of the 2026 election cycle. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump faces criticism from many lawmakers over his 2025 financial disclosures, which included reporting $1.4 billion in earnings related to crypto.
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