Britain votes: Coastal town looks set to elect Trump ally Farage

Change is in the air in Clacton-on-Sea, a sleepy backwater that may become the vanguard for the British right wing after electing Nigel Farage.

CLACTON-ON-SEA, England — Just a handful of holidaymakers dot the pier of what was once a bustling seaside resort. But change is in the air in Clacton-on-Sea, a sleepy backwater that may become the vanguard for the British right wing after electing Nigel Farage, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, to Parliament on Thursday. 

“He hasn’t proven himself, but we’ll give him a chance,” said Neville Hurling, 67, as he sat outside on the patio of the Moon and Starfish Wetherspoon pub last week during a rare mini heat wave. 

Farage, who leads the right-wing Reform UK party and is one of Britain’s most divisive public figures, had celebrated the launch of his campaign from the same pub just days earlier. While the center-left Labour Party looks set to sweep the Conservatives out of power after 14 years in Thursday’s general election, polls indicate that Farage could be chosen to represent Clacton.

“The Tories are absolutely useless, Labour are absolutely useless,” Hurling said. “It’s something different for Clacton.” 

Enervated by years of political disarray and scandal, a bleak economic outlook marked by a spiraling cost-of-living crisis and a health care system on its knees, millions across Britain are hoping for “something different” after this election cycle. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/uk-election-britain-nigel-farage-clacton-reform-rcna159935

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