Every so often, a Land Rover Defender pulls up outside the Reform Party’s Makerfield HQ, on an industrial estate in south Wigan, and disgorges a group of largely male political activists.
They shout mildly abusive slogans before posing for photographs waving dark blue placards, which carry the slogan: ‘We’re voting Restore Britain.’ Then they get back in the noisy 4×4 and drive off.
The bizarre spectacle serves as a metaphor for the state of what is arguably the most important by-election in Britain’s recent history.
On paper, the poll, which culminates on Thursday, was expected to be a showdown between Reform and Labour.
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