Across the market towns of Britain the battle for the soul

The race in rural Louth and Horncastle, a previously unassailable Tory seat, encapsulates Reform’s real threat

As the traders pack up under the striped awnings of the market stalls in the centre of Alford, east Lincolnshire, Matthew Warner is loading balls of wool from his family shop into the back of his car.

Warner, a father of two, is feeling a serious strain on the family finances from fuel prices and childcare, and his wife cannot work full-time hours as a nurse because of the costs. A longtime Tory voter, the 33-year-old is still undecided on who he will vote for on Thursday, but he says he is now attracted by Nigel Farage’s Reform party, who are making significant inroads in seats like this.