Nigel Farage elected as Clacton MP, winning a seat on eighth attempt

Nigel Farage has been elected as the MP for Clacton, finally succeeding in getting a seat in parliament at his eighth attempt.

The Reform UK leader defeated the Conservative candidate, Giles Watling, who had represented the coastal constituency in Essex since 2017, winning 21,225 votes – a majority of 8,405.

Clacton had been regarded as Reform UK’s best hope of taking a seat. It previously had been the only constituency to return a Ukip MP in a general election when it was won in 2015 by Douglas Carswell, who had successfully retained it during a byelection the previous year after defecting from the Tories.

More details soon …