Nigel Farage makes U-turn, announces bid for candidacy in Clacton for Reform UK

Nigel Farage has declared that he will run for Reform UK in the general election on July 4 in Clacton.

Earlier, Farage declared that he would not run for office and that he would instead support Richard Tice's party throughout its campaign.

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He added that he wanted "to help with the grassroots campaign in the USA in any way I can".

However, he announced the U-turn and stated that he would succeed Tice as Reform UK's leader for at least the next five years during a news conference on Monday (June 3).

Speaking to individuals throughout the campaign, Farage said he felt he was "letting them down" and that he had a "terrible sense of guilt" for not standing up sooner.

"I can't turn my back on the people's army," he stated. "I can't turn my back on those millions of people who followed me, and believed in me despite the horrendous things that were being said about me."

"We have forgotten who we are as a country," Nigel Farage continued, who claimed that the nation was in "a form of moral decline."

Since the announcement, people have been wondering about Farage's potential role in the election, including whether he would run against the Conservatives or whether he may work with Rishi Sunak to forge an electoral alliance.

Earlier, Sunak dismissed Farage's potential significance as an election candidate, telling reporters, "One of two individuals will be prime minister: Keir Starmer or me."

"A vote for anyone who's not a Conservative candidate is just a vote to put Keir Starmer in Number 10," Sunak added.

The other candidates competing for Clacton are: Bensilum Matthew of the Liberal Democrats, Natasha Osben of the Green Party, Jovan Owusu-Nepaul from the Labour Party, and Giles Watling of the Conservatives.

(With inputs from agencies)