Battle for Clacton heats up as Labour says it's the only party that can beat Farage

Labour have claimed the collapse in Tory support is now so bad that only they can stop Nigel Farage winning in Clacton, if the last remaining Conservatives vote tactically for their candidate.

- DAVID MADDOX

In 2019 Tory MP and former actor Giles Watling won Clacton with 72.3 per cent of the vote and a majority of 24,702, with Labour a very distant third on just 15.5 per cent. But with the arrival of Mr Farage as the Reform UK candidate in a seat twice won by his former party Ukip, the dynamics in the Essex seaside town appear to have changed.

Based on local projections from Electoral Calculus, Mr Farage is now the frontrunner with 39 per cent of the vote, ahead of Labour in a surprise second place with 27.6 per cent, and the Tories in third on 25.3 per cent.