The view from Boston: Britain's most pro-Brexit town on the general election

In the UK's most pro-Brexit town, the Conservatives won by a landslide at the last general election.

Voters in Boston were the most enthusiastic supporters of Brexit at the 2016 EU Referendum, with almost three quarters backing leave.

Three years later, the Conservative party recorded a huge electoral majority, when Matt Warman secured nearly 77% of the votes cast in Boston and Skegness.

Now, however, Nigel Farage's Reform UK party are aiming to disrupt the status quo.

Given its eurosceptic history, it was no major surprise that when Rishi Sunak called the general election, Reform chairman Richard Tice hastily declared his candidacy for Boston and Skegness.

But if he is hoping to tap into the kind of antipathy towards the EU which helped swing the leave vote, he may be disappointed.

In a village on the outskirts of Boston, a craft group meets once a week and some people feel euroscepticism has waned.

Elaine, a previous Labour-voter who backed Boris Johnson in 2019, said: "A lot of us voted leave because we believed that it was the right thing to do.

"Looking back now it wasn't the right thing to do. Because it stopped our travel, it stopped decent trade with other countries."

"You can't stop immigration because we need immigration, you go back to the war and we've had people settle here. That's what the world is about."

Elaine, who has lived in Lincolnshire for five years, has domestic issues at the forefront of her mind heading towards 4 July.

"There's trouble on the street isn't there? There's people in 2024 using food banks. I mean what's that all about?"

But Elaine, like many people we spoke to, felt undecided about which party to support.

Barbara recently moved to the area from Essex. She said: "I voted Conservative in 2019, I haven't made up my mind this time.

"Boris definitely finished it for most people. First off, we liked him because he'd done such a lot for Brexit but then he just went a bit silly."

For Barbara, the scandal surrounding the former Prime Minister's handling of 'partygate' has persisted.

"If you've done something wrong, admit it and get on with it. But they don't. They tell a few more fibs," she said.

The Fosdyke Playing Field is a community group run by volunteers and started as a warm space for older people two years ago.

Anthony Kindred, the charity's treasurer, said he thinks people "feel let down with the way Brexit turned out."

He added: "I think they all feel let down and looking for alternative."

Rosemary, a Labour voter who backed remain in the EU Referendum, said she's deciding between Labour and Reform.

But she questioned some of the policies of Nigel Farage's party.

Reading some Reform manifesto points from a screenshot on her phone, she said: "If you're gonna cut taxes, where are you gonna get all the money to stop the NHS waiting list cut the NHS waiting list?

"If you're gonna freeze immigration where are you gonna get all these doctors and nurses to get rid of the NHS waiting list? It's like a vicious circle."

The constituency of Boston and Skegness includes a stretch of seaside resorts with tourism businesses keen to see investment.

Nuttall's Donkeys have been operating on the east coast since the First World War.

John Nuttall, the owner, did not vote in 2019 but thinks he may vote for Reform on 4 July.

He said the new government needs to improve the economy on the coast.

"Nobody has got any money to spend at the resort so we don't go out because it's not worth going."

He said: "People on the NHS queuing to have operations and things like that, and yet the government are spending money abroad, billions.

"If they stopped all that and invested in our own country, we might get back on our feet and we all might start earning a living again."

Richard Tice believes he can benefit from the continuing frustration with the way Brexit has been handled.

He said: "The Tories have betrayed all the promises that were made during Brexit. They promised to control immigration - they have opened the borders to mass immigration.

"They promised to reduce taxes and to reduce unnecessary and daft EU regulations. They haven't done any of that. Brexit is still a great opportunity."

Mr Warman, meanwhile, is hoping his local record will help him defy the gloomy national polls.

He said: "It's important to say that it's Rishi Sunak's record on furlough and the economy which is why we're in a position now to start to cut taxes now. But of course I'm keen to talk about what I've done over the last nine or ten years and what I'd like to do over the next five."

He will be relying on defying the predictions of a Conservative collapse in order to be given the chance to keep his job beyond the end of the week.

Candidates in Boston and Skegness:

• David Dickason, English Democrats

• Alexandra Fawbert, Labour Party

• Mike Gilbert, Blue Revolution.

• Richard Gordon Lloyd, Liberal Democrats

• Chris Moore, The Green Party

• Richard Tice, Reform UK

• Matt Warman, The Conservative Party

Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Every day in the run-up to the election Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…