Nigel Farage has hit back at his “haters” over claims that he does not spend enough time in his constituency Clacton.
The Reform UK leader was elected to his first parliamentary seat in July but has been criticised ever since by rival politicians for not spending enough time in the area.
Mr Farage has made multiple trips to the US over recent weeks to display support for presidential candidate and eventual winner Donald Trump.
Hitting back at accusations of not spending enough time in Clacton, Mr Farage told Sky News: “I’ve just exchanged contracts on the house that I’ll be living there in, is that good enough?”
He added that whilst he was elected to represent Clacton, he is “also leading a national political party” and so has more responsibilities than a typical backbench MP.
Following his most recent trip to the US, Mr Farage returned to the UK to ask the Prime Minister in PMQs if he was “willing to mend fences with the US” after several high-profile government ministers made disparaging comments about Donald Trump in recent years.
The Prime Minister responded: “Well I’m glad to see the right honourable member making a rare appearance back here in Britain. He’s spent so much time in America recently, I was half expecting to see him on the immigration statistics.”
Mr Farage seemingly took the comments in good nature and has taken that on his trip to the constituency with his light-hearted retort to those who have criticised him.
In a post on X in which he posed with a pot of sweets in an arcade, Mr Farage said: “I would like all my haters to know that I am once again in Clacton living my best life.”
The post, which has so far been seen over half a million times, received a mixed response, with some asking whether an MP being in their constituency should be treated as a special occasion worthy of a photo, while others clearly enjoyed the comment and offered support.
Mr Farage is not the only MP in recent years to be criticised for not spending sufficient time in their constituency, with former cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Nadine Dories previously appearing on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here whilst serving as MPs.
There are no formal rules on how much time an MP is required to spend in their constituency, nor anything to stop MPs from travelling overseas to support political allies or attending to other interests.
