Kemi Badenoch has launched her search for a Conservative candidate to take on Nigel Farage in Clacton just days after Tory insiders opened the door to doing a deal with Labour in the seaside seat.
Mr Farage, who was elected as the MP for Clacton in 2024, retained the seat last week after calling a by-election over revelations about a £5million gift from the Thai-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
GB News understands the process of selecting a new Conservative candidate in Clacton will formally start next month, with Tories approved to put their names forward now being invited to do so.
A Tory candidate will also be selected for Robert Jenrick's Newark constituency, with Aylesbury, Chelsea & Fulham, Hendon, Maidstone & Malling, North East Hampshire, Poole, Redditch, Ribble Valley, and South West Norfolk also included in the September set.
Ex-Tory MP Giles Watling opened the door to a return to frontline politics when Mr Farage triggered the 2026 Clacton by-election earlier this summer.
Mr Watling, a theatre actor who lost to Mr Farage in 2024 by 8,405 votes, was born and raised in the coastal constituency.
He romped to victory in the 2019 General Election with a thumping 31,438 votes, putting him ahead of Mr Farage's by-election showing of 22,239.
However, Mr Watling is not guaranteed to be selected as the Conservative Party's candidate, with Mrs Badenoch requiring all would-be MPs to adopt tough stances on the European Convention on Human Rights and Net Zero.
The Tories have instead been tipped to select a military veteran to stand as the party's candidate in Clacton.
A second by-election could take place in Clacton later this year after the standards commissioner reopened its investigation into the £5million gift given to Mr Farage.
However, a by-election is only possible if the investigation rules against Mr Farage and MPs on the privileges committee suspend the Clacton MP for 10 days or more.
Such a situation would trigger a recall petition in Mr Farage's seat, with 10 per cent of the electorate needing to sign up to force a poll in the once-safe Tory seat for the second time this year.
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Speaking to GB News ahead of his victory in Clacton, the Reform UK leader said: "The voters of Clacton don't care.
"Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative canvassers have been out for [Count] Binface.
"They're not going to win. They will not call a second by-election. They'd be stupid to do so."
He added: "If I've made one sin, it is I haven't fill in a piece of paper.
"I've broken no law. I've broken no tax law. I've taken no public money."
The Reform UK leader, who continues to deny any wrongdoing, continues to outpoll his mainstream opponents in Clacton.
In an opinion poll conducted ahead of the by-election on August 13, Survation found Mr Farage would receive 57 per cent of the vote, up by 11 per cent compared to 2024 and down by just five points on last week.
Meanwhile, Tory support could slump from 28 per cent to just 11 per cent, leaving the Greens, Labour and Liberal Democrats on single digits.
However, top Tories have put pressure on Andy Burnham to step aside in an attempt to hoover up anti-Reform votes in Clacton.
A senior Conservative source told The Telegraph: “If Burnham was sensible, he’d obviously stand aside in the next by-election.
"Labour don’t stand a chance, and Binface’s numbers show there’s a sizeable anti-Farage vote in Clacton.
“Either way, Kemi’s been clear she wants to throw everything at it.
"Reform’s laughable overselling of Farage’s poor performance on Thursday shows they’re clearly worried this isn’t over.”
Count Binface finally managed to retain his deposit in Clacton after securing 9,455 votes.
The raw figure roughly equates to the number of ballots given to Labour and the Greens in 2024, with the novelty candidate's 26.9 per cent vote share falling just short of Mr Watling's in 2024.
Mrs Badenoch, who penned a letter to Clacton residents ahead of polls opening last Thursday, insisted the Tories will field a candidate to take on Mr Farage if a second by-election is triggered later this year.
Labour insiders have since rejected the suggestion of standing down in Clacton.
However, Reform UK figures have described reports of a deal as another example of the so-called "uniparty" in action.
Reform UK's home affairs spokesman said: "The obvious, natural party for the dying Tory Party to do a deal with is Labour.
"The uniparty operate the same open borders, eyewatering tax policies. The same disdain for voters.
"They already conspired together to cancel elections. They will keep conspiring against the interests of the British people."
Raheem Kassam, a long-time ally of Mr Farage, added: "Labour and the Conservatives increasingly pretend to be mortal enemies at Westminster.
"When their political survival is threatened, however, the differences suddenly become rather less important. The uniparty is real, and no one exposes it quite like Nigel."
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