Nigel Farage resigns as MP to force by-election he will stand in

Nigel Farage resigns as MP to force by-election he will stand in Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Tue, 07/07/2026 - 14:11 Reform UK leader says he's done nothing wrong, after longstanding relationship with aristocrat and convicted felon George Cottrell revealed Nigel Farage announces his resignation as an MP on Tuesday 7 July 2026 (Screengrab) Off Blaming the British establishment and media for revelations about his connections to crypto billionaires and convicted aristocrats, Nigel Farage resigned as an MP on Tuesday before announcing his intention to compete in the resulting by-election. Over the weekend, the Sunday Times revealed that George Cottrell, a 32-year-old aristocrat and convicted felon who previously faced 20 years in US prison for 21 counts related to money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion, paid for security and social media staff for Farage in the year before he became an MP. The paper described “Posh George” as Farage’s “closest adviser for more than a decade”, reporting that the crypto gambler travels with the Reform UK leader in Westminster and around the country.