UK lawmaker Nigel Farage resigns over £5 million gift controversy

The United Kingdom member of parliament for Clacton and leader of the Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, has resigned from parliament amid controversy over financial donations.

Mr Farage announced his resignation from parliament on his YouTube channel Tuesday, adding that he would contest in the by-election.

“Let me be absolutely clear, I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all,” Mr Farage said, noting that he believed he “obeyed” parliamentary rules on “good legal advice.”

The Reform UK leader, however, said he would fight to win his seat back in the by-election.

“I’ve decided the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions. I ‌will ​fight to win. I will fight to continue the political ⁠revolution that Reform has ​started,” Mr Farage said.

Mr Farage came under public scrutiny following reports that he received a £5 million gift from a British billionaire, Christopher Harborne, before announcing he would contest a seat in the parliament in the 2024 general elections.

The Reform UK party leader is under investigation by parliament on whether he ought to have publicly declared the gift he received.

But Mr Farage on Tuesday maintained that he did no wrong, describing the gift from Mr Harborne as a personal gift, “the equivalent of a lottery win.”

A former UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who resigned from his position due to party pressure and unpopular policies, in a post on X on Tuesday, describe Mr Farage’s resignation as “a desperate stunt. Politics should be about improving the lives of millions of people, not about personal gain.”