Who voted for Count Binface and why?

Self-styled intergalactic space warrior Count Binface finished second in the Clacton by-election on Thursday with 9,455 votes.

A record 34 candidates stood in the contest, but Binface and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were the only contenders to secure more than 500 votes.

The other major UK parties boycotted the election, which was triggered by Farage's resignation as an MP in July, having won the seat from the Conservatives in 2024.

Binface has stood in various high-profile elections around the country in recent years. Before Clacton, his best results were more than 24,000 votes in the last two London mayoral elections.

With more candidates on the ballot than ever before, why did 26.9% of voters choose a man wearing a bin on his head?

First-time voter Ben Peters, 18, from Holland-on-Sea, said the election had been a "joke" since the start.

He said: "It was a bit of a thrill, but at the same time it felt almost pointless because I knew that, no matter what I did, Farage was going to get back into the seat."

Binface's policies had included nationalising the singer Adele, moving a pub hand dryer in Uxbridge and enforcing a 99p price tag on ice creams with 99 flakes.