2 days Ago By Oliver Harvey
RIDING a giant mechanical snail alongside Ann Widdecombe on Great Yarmouth seafront may not be everyone’s idea of an election-winning photo op. Straight from the Sir Ed Davey electioneering playbook, the naff stunt by Reform UK’s Rupert Lowe was just asking for headlines about slimy politicians and snails’ pace polls. Yet, if you believe some of the pollsters , then election insurgents Reform may be about to win here in Norfolk ’s kiss-me-quick seaside resort.
A recent poll by Survation had Reform UK as victors here and winning seven other seats, including for its leader Nigel Farage down the coast in Essex’s Clacton-on-Sea . Another survey by IPSOS this week has Labour as the “likely” winner in Yarmouth, making it one of the most unique and hotly contested battlegrounds of tomorrow's election. Bullish Mr Lowe predicts the Conservatives will get “a proper spanking” across the country, with his party benefiting from its hardline stance on immigration .
And he tells me the Tories deserve a thumping come election day to rid the party of what he describes as “social democrats” on its liberal wing. Reform’s surge in polls - around 16 per cent are backing Nigel Farage’s party nationwide - may be dented by revolting racist and homophobic remarks made recently by party activists. Down the coast in Clacton, undercover filming by Channel 4 News revealed Reform canvasser Andrew Parker calling Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a “f***ing p***” .
Mr Parker - who is .
