Election battle looms in a corner of Kent and the stakes are high

As council by-elections go, the battle being fought in a small coastal corner of Kent might, on the surface, tell us little more about the shifting political contours than we already know. The outcome, however, could be a pointer towards the support the main parties have beyond Cliftonville and potentially answer the question of who could be edging ahead and who might be losing ground.

Paul Francis reports on the possible winners and losers in Thanet...

The by-election at the county council has been triggered by the conviction of the Reform party candidate who won the division last May in a landslide. Daniel Taylor was jailed for 12 months for coercive behaviour against his wife - part of his background that somehow didn’t get picked up when he went through the selection process.

He was duly forced out of the party, necessitating a by-election which takes place on 9 April. Despite its success in the local county council elections, where it rolled over the Tory machine, it is not exactly a propitious time for Reform to be contesting a seat.

But the tidal wave of support for the Farage-led Reform party was further evidence that a new political force was on the block. It produced some shock results with Kent County Council falling to Reform, which made no bones about its belief that Farage’s party was prepared to make the Garden of England its territory.

Local election campaigns - particularly by-elections - are traditionally often low-key affairs, and apathy is as significant a factor as the enthusiasm with which the campaign is fought.