Nigel Farage has announced he will run as Reform UK's candidate in Clacton, after previously saying he would not stand in July’s general election. The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader said he had changed his mind after spending time on the campaign trail, adding he did not want to let his supporters down. The Essex seat, which was the first to elect a UKIP MP in 2014, has a Conservative majority of 25,702. Mr Farage also revealed he was taking over from Richard Tice as Reform's leader for the next five years.

After Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unexpectedly called a general election for 4 July, Mr Farage told the BBC six weeks was “not enough” to fight a constituency while campaigning for the party around the country. He has stood to be an MP unsuccessfully seven times, most recently in South Thanet, Kent, in the 2015 general election, when he finished second behind the Tory candidate.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gg66pm8ylo