Nigel Farage appears to be on an unstoppable march to become Clacton’s new MP at the next General Election, with bookies making him the 1/5 favourite to win the contest.
At one point, Reform UK was 13/2 to win the seat before Farage announced his intention to lead the party and stand in the Essex seaside town on Monday.
Now, not even a banana milkshake tsunami could stop the constituency from turning turquoise, with voters in one of the most Brexit-supporting parts of the country seemingly willing to put their faith in the man who, only a few months ago, said he couldn’t think of anything worse than spending every Friday in the town.
But the contest, as they say, is not over until the fat lady sings.
In 2015, a similar narrative prevailed with UKIP enjoying what looked like an unstoppable charge in South Thanet only for their hopes to be shattered by a high-spending Tory resistance and a pub landlord by the name of Al Murray.
The three-horse race ended thusly, with Labour now odds-on favourites to win the 2024 contest in the newly-created constituency of Thanet East.
In Clacton, there are long odds against Labour putting up a resistance, but with Farage and the Tories fighting over the same voters, there is still a slim chance Sir Keir Starmer’s party could come through the middle.
Jovan Owusu-Nepaul is standing on a platform of better housing, social justice and opportunities for all and says he is keen to encourage social mobility and help working-class families seize opportunities to improve their own future.
Other than the Conservatives, who continue to do their utmost to lose the election, he is the only candidate with a realistic prospect of winning, even if the picture remains fluid.
Commenting on the contest, Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain and founder of tactical voting website, GetVoting.org, said:
“Recent constituency-level polling suggests Clacton is a three horse race between Labour, Reform and the Conservatives, but Farage’s shameless u-turn has changed the game in this constituency, underlining the importance of continuous polling to provide voters with the most accurate and up-to-date information.
“GetVoting.org will help voters get it right with tactical voting recommendations based on the latest data and expert analysis to keep Farage and other toxic populists from positions of power.”
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