What does Nigel Farage's resignation mean for investigation into donations?

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage | Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Nigel Farage announced on Tuesday afternoon that he will quit as an MP and fight a by-election in his Clacton seat.

The Reform UK leader has come under intense pressure recently over unregistered donations of cash and support.

He said he has “done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all.”

There has been no suggestion that Mr Farage has broken the law. What is yet to be decided is whether he has broken parliamentary rules.

The Reform UK leader was facing at least one and potentially two investigations into the donations and support he received in the year before he became an MP.

Here is what his surprise resignation means for those probes.

What are the investigations?

Mr Farage is already facing a parliamentary standards investigation over a £5 million gift from Reform donor Christopher Harborne before becoming an MP.

He also suggested he is facing a second probe following reports that long-term ally George Cottrell had provided undeclared funding for security and staffing in the year before he was elected.

Mr Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.

Under the Commons’ rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.

What would be the punishment?

The Standards Commissioner can hand out a suspension from the House of Commons.

If the suspension is longer than 10 days, then the MP faces a recall petition in their seat.

If 10 per cent of the constituents sign the petition within six weeks, then the MP is kicked out of the Commons and a by-election is triggered. The MP is still allowed to take part in the by-election.

In 2023, former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier faced a recall petition after she was sanctioned for breaking covid rules.

Ms Ferrier decided against standing in the by-election, and the seat was won by current Labour minister Michael Shanks.

What happens now that he has stood down as an MP?

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg’s investigation into the £5 million donation is suspended.

But it will be resumed if Mr Farage wins the by-election and comes back to Parliament.

This could mean that the Reform UK leader will face two by-elections in Clacton.

This would happen if he is re-elected and the investigation resumes and concludes that he should be suspended from parliament for more than 10 days.

It has not been announced that Mr Farage is facing a second investigation into the support of Mr Cottrell, but he said in his statement that “yet another standards investigation is under way”.

Thus, Mr Farage’s resignation as an MP would not mean that he avoids two separate standards investigations - both of which would resume if he returns to the Commons.

But his resignation means that any other donations he received in the lead up to the general election which were not declared no longer need to be made public.

This is because donations only have to be declared from the 12 months before someone is elected as an MP.