He's resigning but contesting the resulting by-election.

I guess the logic is that he's about to get suspended, which would likely trigger a by-election anyway, so he'd rather do it in his own terms.

Funny thing is that winning this self-imposed by-election doesn't necessarily stop the recall election from happening shortly thereafter. He's just as likely to get suspended if he wins again, and it still only takes 10% of the electorate to be pissed off with him to trigger it again.

Maybe he'd win both contests, but I could also see the people of Clacton deciding that he's become a liability and opting for e.g. a Restore candidate instead.

Honestly I'm wondering if this is his way of trying to make an exit but saving some face and blaming the establishment?