On 13 October 2014, Douglas Carswell took his seat in the House of Commons, becoming the UK Independence Party’s (Ukip) first elected MP.

Carswell was first elected as the Conservative MP for Clacton at the 2005 general election. In parliament, he acquired a reputation as a libertarian eurosceptic and backbench rebel.

In December 2009, Carswell introduced a bill requesting a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.

UK Independence Party founded by anti-Maastricht campaigners

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On 28 August 2014, Carswell resigned from the Conservative Party at a Ukip press conference.

In a televised statement, he said: “This hasn’t been an easy decision. I’ve been a member of the Conservative Party for all my adult life. It’s full of wonderful people who want the best for Britain…

“The problem is that many of those at the top of the Conservative Party are simply not on our side. They aren’t serious about the change that Britain so desperately needs.

“Of course, they talk the talk before elections. They say what they feel they must say to get our support when they want our support, but on so many issues, on modernising our politics, on the recall of MPs, on controlling our borders, on less government, on bank reform, on cutting public debt, on an EU [European Union] referendum – they never actually make it happen.

“All three of the older parties seem the same. They’ve got swathes of safe seats… they use pollsters to tell us what to tell the voters. Politics, to them, is about politicians like them. It’s a game. It’s a game of spin positioning – first under Tony Blair, then Gordon Brown, now David Cameron.

“It’s all about the priorities of whichever tiny clique happens to be sitting on the sofa in Downing Street…Few are animated by principle or by passion.

“Those that are soon get shuffled out the way. Many are just in it for themselves.”

Carswell also stood down as an MP, forcing a by-election which he would contest as the Ukip candidate.

The Conservatives fought hard to defeat their former colleague in the Clacton by-election followed. Some MPs even called for Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, to stand. But Carswell won the seat with a larger majority than he had won at the 2010 election (as a Tory candidate).

Carswell secured 21,113 votes (59.7%). The Conservative candidate, Giles Watling, won 8,709 votes (24.6%). Turnout stood at 64.2% – a strong showing for a by-election.

The 59.7% increase in Ukip’s share of the vote – having not fielded a candidate in 2010 – remains the greatest ever in the history of British parliamentary elections.

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Carswell’s victory in Clacton was a symbolic blow to the Conservative Party and David Cameron as prime minister. It reflected Ukip’s transition from fringe protest group to genuine electoral threat to the established parties.

Previously, Ukip’s electoral success had been largely confined to European parliament elections, which used a system of proportional representation. Carswell’s victory suggested the party could make gains under Westminster’s first past the post system.

Significantly, Carswell’s achievement was repeated by Mark Reckless – who soon defected from the Conservative Party and joined his erstwhile eurosceptic colleague. In November 2014, Reckless won the Rochester and Strood by-election with 42.1% of the vote, becoming Ukip’s second MP.

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On 13 October, Carswell was formally introduced to the House of Commons. Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the event as an “emotional moment”.

Carswell was introduced to the commons, or ‘sponsored’, by eurosceptic Conservative MPs Peter Tapsell and Zac Goldsmith.

Carswell was re-elected as the Ukip MP for Clacton at the 2015 general election, returning to parliament as the party’s lone representative. Farage failed to secure the constituency of South Thanet by 2,812 votes, losing to Conservative candidate and former Ukip deputy leader Craig Mackinlay.

Nationally, Ukip won 12.9% of the vote, the third-highest share overall.

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Carswell campaigned for ‘Leave’ in the 2016 Brexit referendum – but he did not do so alongside Farage.

Carswell and Farage formed an uneasy relationship from 2014 onwards. The former supported the official Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum, while Farage led the Leave.EU operation.

Carswell later described Farage’s resignation as Ukip leader as a “huge opportunity” to present a fresh face with a “slightly more optimistic tone”.

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Carswell announced his resignation from Ukip in March 2017; he stood down from parliament at the subsequent general election.

Watling, Carswell’s Conservative rival in 2014, was then elected as the MP for Clacton at the third time of asking (he had also stood at the 2015 general election). Carswell endorsed Watling’s candidacy in 2017.

The Ukip candidate, Paul Oakley, received only 3,357 votes in 2017, reflecting the party’s decline after the Brexit referendum.

In 2024, Nigel Farage toppled Watling as the MP Clacton, having returned to frontline politics as the leader of Reform UK. He did so with Carswell’s endorsement.

Carswell said he was “thrilled Nigel Farage is standing in my old seat”.

Nigel Farage officially launches the Brexit Party