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A gentle breeze was forecast for Clacton-on-Sea as voters go to the polls.
It may just help Nigel Farage in a most bizarre of by-elections.
The Reform UK leader needs to get out the vote in the Essex constituency to justify quitting as the local MP just over a month ago and triggering a by-election expected to cost well north of £200,000.
The breeze may keep temperatures down to 26C, rather than spiralling to heatwave heights, as Farage supporters seek to persuade voters to brave the global warming to go to polling stations.
The party’s activists were being deployed from dawn in a sign of how seriously Mr Farage is taking the contest, even though his main opponent is Count Binface after the four other main parties decided not to take part.
Some Reform campaigners were even encouraged to holiday in Clacton to boost Mr Farage’s field operations, with others diverted from the Greater Manchester mayoral contest to the Essex constituency.
In total, there are 34 candidates for the Clacton poll, with the result expected to be announced possibly as late as 6am on Friday.
Mr Farage will win and be returned to Parliament.
But he faces two hurdles, according to experts, which he needs to overcome to avoid his gamble being seen to have backfired as he has been left fighting a two-horse race against Count Binface, the space and electoral warrior character created by comedian Jon Harvey.
He has sought to portray the contest as a battle between himself and “the Establishment”, which is tricky, to say the least, when your opponent walks the streets with a bin on his head.
So, Mr Farage needs to show that the voters of Clacton are firmly behind him, by turning out in large numbers.
Reform sources believe he needs to get to within five, possibly ten, percentage points of a normal by-election turnout.
