General Election: 'Reform UK is the party to watch in Essex'

As General Election campaigning begins, there’s one question on everyone’s minds: what is going to happen in Essex?

Tim Fenton, who spent more than a decade working as a political correspondent for the BBC, thinks it is all to play for in Essex but says Reform UK’s performance will be “interesting” to see.

Speech - Reform UK leader Richard Tice launching the party's general election campaign (Image: PA)

“You can’t underestimate how important elections are to MPs,” Mr Fenton, now a senior journalism lecturer at Essex University, said.

“Even MPs who have big majorities and are pretty well settled and established and in most other areas of their lives come across as fairly confident will still be fairly concerned about what will happen on the night.

Campaign - Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer set out his first six steps for change during a visit to Essex this month (Image: PA)

“I think it would be difficult for Reform to get a lot of candidates through but there are bits of Essex where the performance of Reform will be interesting.”

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He said the Conservatives’ campaign won’t be helped by “the visuals of Rishi Sunak in the rain” and a speech in Downing Street which “seemed to be a bit underwritten and a little bit underprepared”.

Essex is going into the election on July 4 with all 18 of its MPs being Conservatives before parliament was dissolved on Friday.