The historic pier at Clacton-on-Sea promotes water slides, arcades and variety shows, but it is the town’s political drama that will be entertaining a nation on Thursday night, with Nigel Farage hoping to secure his first seat in Westminster.
As visitors descended on the town’s wide golden sands in bright sunshine on Saturday, young and old campaigners filed out of the offices of the Reform party, near an amusement arcade sign stating “welcome to the smile factory”, to distribute leaflets.
One political expert this weekend described Farage as a “hand grenade” thrown into the election campaign and his flanks of supporters believe they are on the brink of a famous victory.
Canvassers who spoke to the Observer insisted the party would weather the controversy over racist comments made by one of the party’s activists, which Farage has dismissed as a “set up”, and the decision to drop three more candidates because of offensive comments.
Clacton is fertile territory for Farage, with a mostly white population (95%) and some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. It is also the only constituency to have elected a Ukip MP, the former Tory Douglas Carswell in 2015.
The opinion polls suggest that, 30 years after he first stood in a byelection in Hampshire and on his eighth attempt, Farage may finally be elected an MP. Reform organisers will consider they have landed a successful campaign with Farage’s unique blend of charisma, bluster and belligerence.
The Reform leader said on Saturday yesterday he would not accept an invitation to appear on the BBC show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg “until the BBC apologises” for what he considered a hostile reception at its Question Time debate on Friday evening. Reform also said it has reported Channel 4 to the Electoral Commission over footage of an activist using racial slurs.
Julia Stephenson, 61, who stood as a green candidate in Kensington and Chelsea in London against Michael Portillo in 2001, said she was canvassing for Farage because she felt he had policies that would help Clacton and the country.
“Clacton is lovely when the sun is out, but many of the shops are shuttered and many of the arcades are empty. Nigel Farage wants to help small businesses by cutting taxes,” she said.
“Reform will do a lot better than we’ve been led to believe because people want change. We need a revolution in politics and we need to shake everything up.”
She said the racist comments made by an activist in secret recordings by Channel 4 had “brought tears to her eyes”, but she was suspicious about the circumstances. Channel 4 has said it stands by its “rigorous and impartial journalism”.
On Thursday, Farage’s ambition is to win the parliamentary seats that will provide a wider platform for his populist policies and political movement. But there are now jitters among some voters after the controversies of recent days about the extremists that his party may attract.
Stephen Friedlander, 58, a taxi driver from Clacton, previously voted Conservative, but says the party lost his vote after he considered it watered down its pledge of leasehold reform. He bought a flat in Clacton for £110,000 in 2013 and faces a price running into tens of thousands of pounds to buy the freehold.
He intended to vote Reform, but now has reservations over what he considers were “disgusting” racial slurs in the Channel 4 report. “It makes me think that they haven’t got a grip on what their people are actually saying,” he said. Friedlander said he would not vote Conservative, but may consider supporting the Liberal Democrats if he did not vote Reform.
Robert Woolgrove, 86, a former newspaper packer on Fleet Street, who lives in Clacton, said he was voting in the general election for the first time, and would be voting for Farage. “I feel most politicians don’t answer the questions. Nigel is straight-talking and answers the questions,” he said.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Farage had a similar “Teflon” quality to Donald Trump. Bale said: “You’d have to say that Farage is one of the most consequential politicians in the last two or three decades. He cuts through to people in ways that other politicians find difficult to do. He has been a human hand grenade, crashing the campaign.”
Bale said he thought Reform would struggle to become a major political party on its platform of populist, rightwing policies, but Farage could become a hugely influential figure by winning a seat in the House of Commons.
“There will be some Conservatives who believe that the future lies in uniting the right, and maybe even welcoming him into the party. There will obviously be some Conservatives who would see that as anathema and will do everything they can to stop that happening.”
He said it was not inconceivable that the Conservative party might turn to Farage as a future leader.
The opinion polls suggest Reform may win between one and 18 seats; even just the one in Clacton would be a historic result for Farage.
John Moss, 73, a property developer and Reform supporter with UK and US citizenship, was in Clacton at the weekend campaigning for Farage, who he believes will win on Thursday. Moss said Farage had already “sealed his position” in the history books over Brexit, but would now “crack” parliament. “It will be a pulpit for him,” he said. “And I believe he will take maximum advantage of it.”
