By Charlie Simpson | July 26, 2026
On Thursday 13 August, voters in Clacton will head to the polls after Nigel Farage triggered a by-election. In the first of what will be a series of interviews during the contest, our director Charlie Simpson spoke to Kai Stephens, the British Democrats candidate standing on a pro-remigration platform.
Stephens says his campaign to become the next MP for Clacton “is going really well.” He added that a friend of his described it as “an indictment on democracy” if he fails to win. Stephens believes that if he were able to canvass every voter in the constituency he would secure a “respectable” share of the vote. The majority of people he has spoken to so far have told him they would consider voting for him, and since the campaign began he has spoken in person to more than 500 residents while out knocking on doors. He is aiming for at least 400 votes as a bottom-end target.
When asked about the campaigns of his opponents, Stephens described Farage’s effort as “take some photos, give a signature and then move on.” He also claimed the Reform leader “hasn’t got the same support he got at the last election.” On Count Binface, the novelty candidate, Stephens said the name has come up only three times across the hundreds of doors he has knocked, yet predicted Binface “will probably come second due to him being the only left-wing choice.”
The leader of the Social Democratic Party, William Clouston, is also standing. Stephens said Clouston’s campaign is “not breaking the mould politically” and is not bringing anything new to the table, “whereas I’m putting remigration at the front of my campaign.”
On weekdays Stephens has around two people helping him canvass; at weekends that rises to about ten British Democrat activists. He also has “lots” of action days planned. In the evenings he winds down by walking on Clacton beach and playing GTA 4 on his computer.
If elected, Stephens’ first 100 days would focus on pushing for Clacton to become an economic tourist zone and cutting VAT and business rates to lower the cost of visiting a seaside town and create more jobs for local residents. He would also devote a large portion of his time to areas such as Jaywick.
Asked about voters’ reactions to his remigration message, he said: “Voters have been overwhelmingly positive regarding reversing demographic change.” He added: “People don’t want their grandkids growing up in a country where they are hated.” He estimates that 90 per cent of the people he has spoken to are concerned about demographic change.
Why stand in this by-election? “The people of Clacton weren’t given a serious choice,” he replied. “The left were given Count Binface and the right were given a populist actor.”
Political violence has risen in recent years, and after the alleged murder of Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe politics can be a dangerous business. Asked whether he worries about his safety on the campaign trail, Stephens said: “Of course I’m worried. My leaflet says ‘migrants out, tourists in’ with my face right next to it, and that leaflet will be sent to every voter, so yes there’s a worry I could be attacked or worse.” He went on: “I will willingly take a beating to save my country.”
The 22-year-old remigration activist’s goal for the by-election is “to give the British Democrats a respectable vote share” and to shift “the discourse in this country from talking about controlling immigration to reversing mass immigration and safeguarding our demographic future.”
Thank you for reading GB Politics’ first candidate interview of this by-election. There will be more to come, with our director Charlie Simpson leading the way.
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