00:00What may be the most peculiar election in British political history is taking place on Thursday in Clacton-on-Sea.
00:06It was triggered by Nigel Farage, the local MP, resigning from Parliament as he faced financial allegations, which he denies.
00:14His decision stunned MPs and is threatening to backfire.
00:17The former UK leader has sought to portray the by-election as a battle between himself and the establishment.
00:23But the other main parties quickly decided not to enter the contest.
00:27So it's turned into a two-horse race between Mr Farage and Count Binface, the space and electoral warrior character
00:35created by comedian John Harvey.
00:37Now, it's very difficult to portray a man who walks around the street with a bin on his head at
00:42the establishment.
00:43So Mr Farage has landed himself two problems.
00:46First, he has exposed himself to a level of ridicule, including from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, as he goes head
00:52-to-head against Count Binface in the by-election.
00:55The reform leader is widely expected to win by a comfortable margin, but the political farce has gone global, being
01:01reported in America, Japan, Australia, India and across Europe, and it's shone a spotlight on his financial affairs.
01:09Now, don't underestimate Mr Farage, he is one of the best campaigners in British politics in modern times.
01:15But it looks like that he has miscalculated badly, and reflecting on his decision to quit as an MP, he
01:22may now just wish that he'd been the idea.
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