Time for a change? Voters in super-safe Tory seat consider shift to the right

As the traders pack up under the striped awnings of the market stalls in the centre of Alford, east Lincolnshire, Matthew Warner is loading balls of yarn from his shop into the back of his car.

- Jessica Elgot

Warner, a father of two, says his family is feeling a serious financial strain because of fuel prices and childcare, which have meant his wife cannot work full-time hours as a nurse because of the cost. A long-time Tory voter, he is still undecided as to who he will vote for tomorrow, but the 33-year-old says he is now considering Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, which is making inroads in seats like this.

Alford is in one of the safest Tory constituencies, Louth and Horncastle, but the race is a near perfect encapsulation of the fight for the Conservative party's soul.

Until parliament was dissolved its MP was Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, a moderate figure in the party and a champion of Rishi Sunak. Her Reform opponent, Sean Matthews, is a retired police officer and was previously a local Tory branch chair who quit the party over its removal of Liz Truss and installation of Sunak.

Like many voters in the market towns of this constituency, Warner says he believes it is "time for a change" after 14 years, having voted Tory at every election. "Nigel is standing out to us more than any other," he says, though he is dismissive of all the other main parties. He says ultimately that he does not trust Reform - or any other party - to make a difference to the struggles of ordinary people.