ZACK Polanski has called out Nigel Farage for calling an early by-election, saying that he “pulled the trigger early” as he knew it was already coming amid a growing donations scandal.
The Reform UK leader called an emergency press conference on Tuesday afternoon as he announced that he would quit as the MP for Clacton and contest the race in a bid to clear his name.
He is currently facing an investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner over a £5 million gift from the Thailand-based billionaire Christopher Harborne, along with claims that his long-term aide Cottrell had paid for staff before the General Election, potentially breaking MPs’ rules by failing to declare the financial support.
Farage suggested “the establishment” had chosen to use “foul means” to beat Reform UK as he said he had “not broken the law in any way at all”.
In a televised statement, the party leader pointed to electoral gains it made in May and said: “It seems to me that the establishment have now decided that they can’t beat us fairly, so they’ve chosen to use foul means.
“Let me be absolutely clear, after the furore and the media pile-on, well, not just the media, the other political parties too – let me be absolutely clear – I have done nothing wrong.”
Reacting to Farage’s comments, the leader of the Green Party in England and Wales, Polanski, said that Farage was a “grifter” who is “literally part of the establishment”.
“He always has been and he's continuing to grift,” Polanski said.
“He knew he was heading towards a byelection anyway so has pulled the trigger early.
“The people Vs the establishment?! Reform are literally part of the establishment.
“This man has taken money now from cryptobillionaires and convicted criminals and those are just the ones we know about.
“This is another circus when actually the Government should be taxing wealth fairly and cleaning up money and politics.”
Polanski added: “The Green Party are the only party talking about our assets – like energy and water – being nationalised rather than continuing to make huge profits for the already very wealthy.
“Our mission stays the same. Replace Labour. Take on Reform.”
Farage presented his bid to retain the Clacton seat as a way to give his constituents the final say on his political future after he found himself engulfed in a donations scandal which included taking financial support from a convicted fraudster.
Cottrell, an aristocratic banker who previously served eight months in a US prison for fraud, provided financial benefits and has continued to give the Reform leader use of a five-storey Georgian townhouse he rented near Buckingham Palace, The Sunday Times reported.
He was jailed for eight months in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud after admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer.
He was arrested as he and Farage travelled back to Britain after a trip to the US.
Cottrell reportedly remains a close adviser to Farage after first becoming involved in Ukip as a volunteer in the run-up to the Brexit referendum.
Farage has said he believes he has “absolutely obeyed” the rules about how MPs ought to behave, amid scrutiny of his finances.
The Reform UK leader said: “Parliament has its rules about how Members ought to behave, and I believe I’ve absolutely obeyed those rules, and done so under getting good legal advice. The standards rules are clear, this is what they say: The code applies to members in all aspects of their public life. It does not seek to regulate what members do in their purely personal lives.
“Though it would seem from the last couple of years, from the way I have been treated, that the press would rather our Members of Parliament had no assets and no wealth at all. They seem to fundamentally object to any MP that has outside income. Indeed, they view those that have continuing business interests with severe, severe scepticism.
“Making money is not a crime.”
