"Great Yarmouth is a beacon for Reform UK just as it was for UKIP."
Nigel Farage was the guest of honour for a sold-out political rally at Great Yarmouth Racecourse on Tuesday night.
Sided by Great Yarmouth election candidate Rupert Lowe and Lowestoft candidate June Mummery, the Reform leader addressed some 450 people in the Victory Suite before taking some questions.
Before the rally began, Mr Farage said: "I have spoken to half a dozen people from Great Yarmouth so far today and everyone is saying the same thing.
"The NHS doesn't work anymore and the immigration levels in the town are at a level where they just can't even work out what's going on."
The former UKIP leader said the town is somewhere he has "Coming out to a standing ovation, Mr Farage wagered Labour would win the general election on July 4, but vowed to continue to grow support for Reform UK to make it "the biggest party in this country by 2029".
He later discussed knife crime, tax cuts and trying to entice more skilled British people to stay in the country.
The floor then opened for questions. People asked about rebuilding fishing trade, whether England should have its own national anthem and a public holiday on St George's Day, and whether Mr Farage supported taking children out of school to go on holiday.
Mr Farage left the rally shortly after 8pm, before being driven in a jeep down the race track and boarding a helicopter heading west. Dozens of people left the Victory Suite shortly after the leader's exit.
Yarmouth candidate Rupert Lowe then answered several questions before the rally finished at around 8.30pm.
REFORM'S YARMOUTH CAMPAIGN
Mr Lowe said his campaign is "flying" and he has been made welcome in the town.
"We had a very well-attended meeting with Ann Widdecombe on Saturday, and she enjoyed the snails," he said.
"It's going better than we could have possibly expected."
although he has not been blocked by any other people online, "people have been apparently dropping leaflets around Great Yarmouth saying I am privately educated and that I don't care about the town".
Mr Lowe said thatAs a child, Mr Lowe attended The Dragon in Oxfordshire, an exclusive preparatory school which currently has fees of up to £12,630 per term, before going on to Radley College, a Rugby Group private school which charges £16,025 per term.
When asked whether being an MP would be his only job if he was successful on July 4, Mr Lowe said: "I've got lots of businesses that I am a shareholder in, but I don't necessarily have any executive roles.
"So it will become probably the focus of what I do."
NIGEL GETTING ATTACKED BY THE 'MOB'
Plastic bottles were being confiscated before entering the rally as they "could be used as projectiles," a member of security said.
During his speech, the Reform leader said he would "never give in to the mob," referring to his appearance in Barnsley earlier on Tuesday which saw a man in a red hoody hurl litter at Mr Farage's open-top battle bus.
Last week in Clacton, a woman was arrested after throwing a banana milkshake in Mr Farage's face.
REFORM'S CHANCES OF WINNING
Despite saying Labour would win the general election, Mr Farage was keen to point out that the latest YouGov poll positioned Reform UK "just one point behind the Conservatives nationally". The party leader said he had seen massive support around the country, including in the east.
"We've got big chances of winning Great Yarmouth and Clacton," said Mr Farage. "Rupert's got a bigger Labour problem here. I've got a bigger Conservative problem.
"But the Conservative vote is collapsing."
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