Whitstable is a seaside town in Kent. (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
People living in an English seaside town have revealed why they think many voters ditched the Tories and turned to Reform UK.
Whitstable in Kent is located within the Canterbury constituency. The university city seat was won by Rosie Duffield MP, now an independent, after winning on the Labour ticket in July.
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However, Reform UK’s candidate, Bridget Porter, received 14.4% of the vote, with the Conservatives ahead at 23%.
Express.co.uk was told by residents on a chilly, overcast early December day as an election year came to an end that the Tory vote was ‘split’ by Nigel Farage’s party and that they represented an "engaging" and "distinguishable" alternative as Sir Kier Starmer’s Labour Party and the Conservatives had ‘merged together’.
“I think Labour and the Conservatives are the same party,” Darrell Back said. The 52-year-old self-employed builder added: “I did vote Conservative last time because of immigration issues that need fixing and responding to because it is a big invasion, and it is a national crisis that’s been going on for quite a while.”
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Darrell Back is a self-employed builder. (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
But Mr Back then said: “We [Whitstable] haven’t had it yet. We haven’t had a touch yet.”
"A lot" of the people he knows voted Reform.
“The thing with Labour, like all parties, they say what they want to say to get in, and then, as soon as they get in, they do what they want to do.”
On whether Reform will endure as a party, the tradesman said the party would improve next time out because it "listens to the people."
He added: “Labour’s not listening to the people.”
Nevertheless, Mr Back said the area has few Reform campaigners knocking on doors.
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Nigel Farage is a 'good person', Mr Back says (Image: Getty)
“Because I don’t think a lot of people, don’t, not scared maybe, to stand up and say ‘Reform’. Because, straight away, you’ll be classed as a racist, and it’s not about racism at all.”
Mr Back believes Mr Farage is a "good person" and a "good front." Lee Anderson, meanwhile, is "quite good as well."
“They’re people,” he added, “working people… which is what we all are. We’re all grafters in this world.”
He described Tories and the Labour Party as being "in a different elite," associated with Eton and private and high education in a "different league."
Phil Hutton says people wanted a 'new broom'. (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
Walking past the town’s lifeboat dock was Phil Hutton, 64, now retired after working in technical support training in the coffee business. He said: “It’s difficult to tell, really. As usual with local politics it’s ‘he said’, ‘they said’, ‘she said’, and everybody makes up their own mind after that.”
He mentioned the issue of sewage being released into the sea locally as the ‘main’ issue and that the Government needs to ‘get a grip’.
“A lot of local people go swimming a lot,” Mr Hutton said, “and also the visitors as well - they see that and they’re put off”.
“I refuse to vote now,” he added. He suggested that the election was about finding a "new broom".
“Until people see things happening, it’s very difficult to know,” he said. “Time will only tell.”
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Callum Page, 62, a retired courier driver, has lived in Whitstable for 20 years. He told Express.co.uk: “In this area, it’s not me, but it’s immigration [...] we’re so close to the channel.
“That’s the impression I got. It’s not my personal view, but talking to my conservative friends, that’s what they were saying.”
He added that a "balls up" of the economy, including rising inflation and high interest rates, also influenced how people voted.
“I’m a socialist myself,” Mr Page added, “I think it’s [Reform] just splitting the Tory vote.”
A 59-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, had just exited a shop on the high street. She said that Labour and the Conservatives’ policies had "merged", and Reform seemed "more radical" as voters were more able to "distinguish" what Mr Farage’s party stood for.
The Whitstable local added: “My brother, for example, couldn’t distinguish between [Labour and the Tories] in terms of policy; it’s not that different. They [Labour] got in because of the students, for sure.”
Callum Page says his conservative friends cited immigration as the biggest election issue (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
The higher education professional also described the impact of individuals and social media. The woman, who has lived in Whitstable since she was 20, said: “Farage is like a Trump, isn’t he? He’s larger than life, isn’t he?"
On the other hand, the resident suggested, people feel they can "engage with" the former UKIP leader more. On the governing party, she added “I don’t think people maybe find them as engaging, even though I have confidence in Labour.”
She described Mr Farage as "unbelievable", adding: “People don’t even look at the policies. They’re engaged in personality.”
A woman called Catherine, 58, who wished to withhold her surname, lives in Canterbury. She said: “I assume it’s because the Conservatives failed with the immigration issues. That’s why people who are sort of more far-right went to the Reform party.”
She also raised the impact of "instability" as regards the leadership of the Tory party.
The higher education professional added: “Public services have been decimated, and people are starting to see the effects more with the NHS and social care. Universities are at risk of bankruptcy.”
Sue Withers used to work for the Ritz hotel in London. (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
John Amos says he doesn't listen to any politicians. (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
Sue Withers, 75, used to work in laundry services at some of London’s most famous hotels, including the Ritz. She has lived in Seasalter for 20 years.
Ms Withers said: “I think they just felt the Conservatives were corrupt and doing a bad job - making richer people richer, basically.
“I don’t think immigration is that important, actually. It’s housing, the NHS - they’re the two most important things.”
John Amos, 46, is a heating engineer. He has lived in Whitstable his entire life.
“It doesn’t make a lot of difference whether I do [vote] or don’t,” Mr Amos said. “I go to work, do my bits, go home.”
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He added: “That might sound a bit selfish. It’s a bit of a game, and a lot of people like to discuss it.
“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know who the prime minister was.” Before walking off and getting on with this day, he ended by saying: “My life’s actually better without listening to it.”
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