General Election 2024: Reform UK's Frank Ward set for historic win in Bassetlaw in Tory wipe out

Jamie Barlow

4 July 2024 at 6:35 pm·2-min read

Frank Ward, standing for Reform UK in Bassetlaw, wearing a suit and the party's blue rosette — -Credit: (Image: Submitted)

The political landscape in Bassetlaw is set for a remarkable swing, with pollsters having Reform UK candidate Frank Ward marginally up on Labour and favourite to oust Brendan Clarke-Smith of the Conservatives.

It's incredibly tight but Reform UK - forecast to win 13 seats overall in the General Election - are just up on Labour's Jo White in the North Nottinghamshire battleground with Reform given a 56 percent chance of winning the seat compared to Labour at 44 percent.

The Ipsos UK exit poll officially has it down as being 'too close to call'. Mr Ward, the father of Labour's East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, describes himself as a "very young 86". He described the race as "the most exciting election I have seen", adding: "It's going to be the most toxic election and the dirty tricks are going to start."

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Mr Ward's claim is that he would be the oldest person to enter the House of Commons for the first time if elected.

Mr Ward served for decades as a Labour councillor before leaving the party in 2007. Initially standing as an independent candidate for his local council after leaving Labour, Mr Ward later joined UKIP in 2013, serving as the chair of his local party branch.

Nationally, Labour are set for a landslide win - with the exit poll showing a sea of red, with Labour holding a 170 majority, achieving 410 votes, to the Conservatives' 131 and the Liberal Democrats' 61.

Mr Clarke-Smith made history back in 2019, when the Conservatives won Bassetlaw for the first time in 100 years with his 14,000 vote majority the biggest-ever swing from Labour to Conservative.

Follow our live coverage in our General Election live blog.

Below, presented in alphabetical order by surname, are all the candidates standing in Bassetlaw on July 4.

Conservative

Brendan Clarke-Smith

Green

Rachel Reeves

Liberal Democrats

Helen Tamblyn-Saville

Reform UK

Frank Ward

Labour

Jo White

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General Election 2024: Reform UK's Frank Ward set for historic win in Bassetlaw in Tory wipe out

Below, presented in alphabetical order by surname, are all the candidates standing in Bassetlaw on July 4.

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