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Thursday, August 13, 2026

Victorious Farage absent in Clacton

China ‘funding pro-Palestine marches in UK’ | ‘How I made Harvey Nicks absolutely fabulous’
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Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Friday, 14 August 2026

Issue No. 537

Good morning.

Nigel Farage has been re-elected in the Clacton by-election but refused to attend the count, saying that the police had warned him of a plot to disrupt the event. Farage claimed victory several hours before the result was announced last night, telling supporters that it was an “overwhelming endorsement of me”. However, he said he would not attend the count after Essex Police warned him about an “organised campaign”.

Genevieve Holl-Allen reports on one of the most unusual by-elections in living memory, while Annabel Denham argues that although Reform UK will be relieved to have won again in Clacton, the party is still suffering from a lack of national momentum. For now though, writes Tony Diver, Farage will consider himself back on top.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for less than £2.50 per month. If you’re already a subscriber make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

China ‘funding pro-Palestine marches in UK’

‘How I made Harvey Nicks absolutely fabulous’

Plus, the cancer symptoms people mistake for ageing or stress

Get 1 year for just £29

Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month.

 

Victorious Farage absent in Clacton

Genevieve Holl-Allen

Genevieve Holl-Allen

Political Correspondent

 

As expected, Nigel Farage has secured an emphatic victory in the Clacton by-election.

The Reform UK leader, who refused to attend the count after saying the police had warned of a campaign to disrupt it, will be happy with a result which saw his majority and vote share increase.

Farage billed the by-election as a “people versus the establishment” contest.

The establishment, however, did not contest Clacton. Labour and the Tories refused to field a candidate in a contest they branded a farce.

Instead, the field was left to 33 novelty candidates. Farage’s main rival was a comedian called Count Binface, who secured 9,455 votes and comfortably held his deposit.

Count Binface, the novelty candidate and Farage’s main by-election rival, came second | Credit: Jack Taylor via Reuters

Critics will be asking what this result really changes.

Now returned as Clacton MP, Farage will face the restart of two parliamentary investigations into his failure to declare properly donations from a Thai-based billionaire and from a close friend and convicted fraudster, George Cottrell, known as “Posh George”.

However, this result has allowed Farage some breathing space and put the leader back on the front foot against the “establishment” he has always argued is out to block his path to power.

If there is a second by-election as a result of the parliamentary investigation, Farage will claim he already has the backing of the only people that really matter to him, the voters.
Follow the latest updates here

Annabel Denham: Farage’s risky gamble has paid off

Tony Diver: Farage is back on top… for now – this analysis is available only to subscribers

 

Opinion

Jeremy Warner Headshot

Jeremy Warner

Brace yourself for food prices to surge

Extreme weather and our heavy reliance on imports mean grocery bills will keep soaring

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Sherelle Jacobs</span> Headshot

Sherelle Jacobs

I watched a murderer finally sentenced to life. It’s an outrage he was ever on the streets

Continue reading

 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Michael Deacon</span> Headshot

Michael Deacon

Adult ‘Pottermaniacs’ are pathetic. It’s time they grew up

Continue reading

 
Matt Cartoon
 

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In other news

A child was taken to hospital after wildfires set homes ablaze on the hottest day of the year. The West Midlands was at the centre of “apocalyptic” blazes which broke out as temperatures soared to a high of 38.1C in parts of the country yesterday.

Fires rage in Stourbridge

Fires rage in Stourbridge

• Meanwhile, experts believe a train derailment in which two passengers were seriously injured may have been caused by the heatwave.

The train derailed near Lewes railway station

Andy Burnham faces legal action over his plan to house more asylum seekers in middle-class areas. Reform UK said it would oppose the policy, including by launching judicial reviews.

• A fall in girls achieving top A-level grades has been linked to poor mental health. The percentage of girls’ grades that were A* or A was almost an entire percentage point lower than that achieved by boys.

• Russian secret services recruited a hitman to kill an American-Ukrainian on Polish soil, said Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister. Authorities thwarted the attempted assassination.

• A Ryanair passenger “sustained serious injuries” after being partially sucked out of a plane when an engine part shattered a window, investigators have said.

 

Essential reads

Code Pink has organised protests in the UK against Britain’s involvement in Gaza

China ‘funding pro-Palestine marches in UK’

China is suspected of funding pro-Palestine marches in Britain, The Telegraph can disclose. US politicians investigating alleged secret Chinese backing of Code Pink, a far-Left feminist protest group established in America, are examining its activities in Britain as part of an inquiry into foreign interference, writes Richard Holmes, our Forensic Investigations Editor.

The US investigation is examining £250,000 in alleged payments to a company linked to Code Pink in Britain from firms connected to Neville Roy Singham, a tech tycoon accused of financing Chinese propaganda around the world.

For subscribers only

 

‘I made Harvey Nicks absolutely fabulous. Here’s how I’d do it again’

In the 1980s, writes Lynne Franks, I helped turn Harvey Nichols into London’s coolest department store, inspiring Absolutely Fabulous and enticing Princess Diana along the way. Since then, watching corporate boredom drain its soul – and trigger £178m in losses – has been heartbreaking. With the Knightsbridge icon now up for sale, here is my blueprint to bring back its magic.

Continue reading

 

A once bustling street in Taipei is now empty as air raid sirens ring out

Sirens blare and the streets empty out. Taiwan prepares itself for war

It started with a text message saying a missile was incoming, writes Allegra Mendelson, our Asia Correspondent. The streets emptied as the air raid sirens blared. Then the internet went down. On Thursday, residents across northern Taiwan got a taste of what would happen if China launched an attack. I was on the ground to see how the country is preparing.

Continue reading

 

Can Britain’s bad boy chef cut the mustard in New York?

Handsome, talented and with a piratical swagger, Thomas Straker became one of the biggest culinary hits of the pandemic, thanks to his appetising videos on Instagram. Success brought book deals, a butter company and physical restaurants, along with millions of followers. He has also flirted with tabloid notoriety. Ed Cumming caught up with him in New York, where he is preparing to open his first restaurant outside London, and found him in a surprisingly thoughtful mood.

Continue reading

 

Seize the day

The cancer symptoms people mistake for ageing or stress

It’s easy to blame tiredness on a long week, or an aching back on getting older, but when should everyday symptoms be taken more seriously? Dr Anisha Patel knows better than most. As a busy mother and GP, she initially dismissed her constipation and fatigue before she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer. Here, she reveals five symptoms you should never ignore and when it's time to see your doctor.

Continue reading

Here is another article you may find helpful this morning:

  • At some point after the eclipse, many people will have reflected on the reality that there won’t be another one quite as good on British soil until 2081. Catch another totality using our destination guide.
 

Reviews of the week

‘I went to the Edinburgh show touted as the next Fleabag...’

Australian writer-performer Hannah Reilly is putting on a one-woman confessional show

Dominic Cavendish

Dominic Cavendish

Chief Theatre Critic

 

Nudity seems to be making a comeback as the Edinburgh Fringe grows less prudish after the killjoy woke years. You expect risqué antics from comics, but Garry Starr, an Australian comic, takes the biscuit in Classic Penguins, nude throughout and even (eek!) crowd-surfing.

Theatre’s getting in on the act, too. At the hipster venue Summerhall the hot ticket is Roleplay, a breast-baring solo about a female podcaster trying to monetise sexual adventurism. Co-produced by Francesca Moody, whose credits include Fleabag, it’s brave (if muddled). I’m also about to see a revival of the American epic Angels in America, which promises/warns of nudity too.

Still, perhaps the most repellent sight I’ve seen so far is that notorious photo of Lord Mandelson in his Y-fronts featuring in Mandy, a brilliant new show about him, which has quite put me off my haggis.

Tristram Fane Saunders

Tristram Fane Saunders

 

Amanda Knox’s show was the most controversial at this year’s Fringe, until it opened and turned out to be a damp squib. For proof you can joke about tragedy, skip Knox and watch Frankie McNair, who heroically turns her childhood abuse into an hour of belly-laughs.

Meanwhile, in the Monkey Barrel’s basement, I spotted Mickey Flanagan chuckling at louche and cheeky “posh lad” Finlay Christie’s show about a wild night out in New Orleans that ended with him being robbed by two women. Out-out, indeed.

The biggest new face at this festival is papier-mâché: there’s enormous buzz about Basil Crumbwick, a kind of evil Frank Sidebottom. Only at the Fringe, eh?
Read Dominic and Tristram’s full Fringe guide

 

Your say

A once-in-a-generation disappointment

Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories.

Orlando writes...
Well then: how was your eclipse? I was in Cornwall for the last one, in 1999, and my abiding memories are of clouds, and then, briefly, darker clouds. I had hoped there might be a little more spectacle, a little more drama, this time around.

During the event, I found myself standing by my kitchen window, wondering whether I was doing the right thing with my colander. Yes, yes, I briefly considered the vastness of the universe and my paltry insignificance within it, but I also found myself thinking: “Is that it, then? Might as well get started on dinner.”


 

Michael Banyard reported a similar sense of anticlimax in Somerset: “The solar eclipse was something of a non-event here. There was a faint dimming of the light but the sun was still bright in the West as we watched the passing of the moon filtered through a ‘colander’ of trees and projected on to our cottage. My wife and I dined in our garden with needless candle lanterns. Such is the power of the sun when less than 10 per cent is visible.”


 

According to Dianne Sandland, Devon was the place to be: “We had 96 per cent coverage, and I’m extremely lucky in that my bedroom window faces due West, with an almost unimpeded view of the horizon. So, with my special specs, I watched in comfort. It was far from disappointing.”


 

Another reader reflected: “I didn’t look directly at the sun as I didn't have certified-safe glasses, but I enjoyed the eerily changed light all around us. There was a definite ‘atmosphere’. Did it justify the hype? Not as much as a total eclipse would have, but it was nice to witness.”


 

Valerie Keeling, meanwhile, had what struck me as a very reasonable question: “You have reported that there was a surge in colander sales for viewing the eclipse. This means that many people don’t possess one. How do they drain their pasta?”

How did you watch? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.

Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.

 

On this day

1925 | The monument on Mount Rushmore is first proposed

1994
| Space telescope Hubble photographs Uranus with its rings

2013
| Violent clashes between police and protesters lead to the deaths of 638 people across Egypt (see our front page from the following day)

2016 | Usain Bolt becomes the first man to win the 100m Olympic gold three times

Birthdays: Mila Kunis (43), Adrian Lester (58), Halle Berry (60), Steve Martin (81)

Telegraph front page

Plus, in the news today, a luxury yacht has sunk days after it was delivered to its new owner. How much was it worth?

Yacht GIF

1. £3m
2. £4.5m
3. £5m
4. £6.8m

Click one of the options to reveal the answer...

 

Puzzles

Panagram

Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.


 

Yesterday’s Panagram was ACTUALITY. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.

 

Please let me know what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.

Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Chris Evans, Editor

Get 1 year for just £29

Unlock free-thinking insights, expert analysis and our daily puzzles – all for less than £2.50 per month.

 

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