Nigel Farage issues a message to the people of Blackpool about why resort voters should back him

Mr Farage was in town to deliver a speech tonight at the resort’s Imperial Hotel in a sold-out event, having already unveiled a campaign poster in the town.

Prior to addressing the party faithful in the grand hotel, the politician was asked what his party could do for Blackpool, a town recognised as one of the most deprived in the country.

Mr Farage said people in Blackpool should “join the revolt” because Britain was broken and only Reform could fix it, insisting the party was now the only opposition to a resurgent Labour party.

The politician, 60, who attracts both unwavering support as well as outright hostility, told the Gazette: “How can we help Blackpool? Well, we can do one big thing - our main manifesto pledge is to raise the level at which people start paying tax at £20,000 year.

“Why? Number one, the lowest earners would keep more of the money.

“But the key thing, those on benefits - if they go to do a job and work more than 16 houes a wek, they start to lose their benefits.

“They’re better off staying on benefits than going back to work. That is crackers.

“If we bring that £20,000 in, they can stay at work, which will help them economically and also psychologically as well, in terms of their feelings of value and benefit to society.

“The second thing we can do, for a place like Blackpool, is help small businesses because everything Labour and the Tories do is about the giant multinationals.

“What about local self employed people, family-run businesses? They’ve been given a terrible time. Corporation Tax on their companies, up 30 per cent last year. Rules have come in that make it so hard for self employed people who work for big contractors.”

Can Reform win resort’s two seats?

Mr Farage said: “Huge numbers here voted for me when I led UKIP, huge numbers voted for Brexit and the modern day Labour party doesn’t represent those kind of values.

“Keir Starmer voted for a second referendum, doesn’t really believe in it.

“There’s always been that Labour vote, particulat in Lancashire that was very patriotic and Labour is now a London-based metropolitan party, run from North London.

“We want to fulfil Brexit and the biggest thing was immigration.

“I’ve seen homeless veterans on the streets of Blackpool when hotels across the North West have been filled with young men who’ve come over across the Chanel.

People think that’s wring and I’m the only person with the balls to deal with it.

“We are seriously competing in Blackpool, it’s us against Labour and we are their main opposition now, and I would say to anyone thinking of voting Conservative, you are wasting your vote.

“We won about 18 per cent of the vote in the Blackpool South by-election. Since then, our share of the vote has grown. it’s going to be really tight.”

About Reform

Founded in 2021 as the re-launch of the Brexit Party, Reform have grown in popularity in the polls at the cost to the Conservatives, and gained their first MP in March when former Tory Lee Anderson defected following his suspension over comments he made about London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Reform UK aims to “stand up for British culture, identity and values”, with promises including freezing immigration, ‘stopping the boats’, restoring law and order, cutting taxes, slashing energy bills and unlocking economic growth.