Nigel Farage will pick a "high-quality candidate" in a bid to topple Kemi Badenoch in her once-safe Tory seat, GB News has been told.
The Reform UK leader made North West Essex a “key target seat” after the pair’s bust-up over membership figures on Boxing Day.
Farage’s loyal disciples warned Badenoch in January that her comments sparked fury among Reform UK’s burgeoning membership base, leading to a major rally in the constituency.
Reform is now expected to contest North West Essex with a star candidate.
“We intend to pick a high quality candidate for Kemi’s seat - as Nigel said earlier in the year, this will be a key target seat for us," a Reform insider told GB News.
The People's Channel can also reveal that Reform activists in North West Essex have been ramping up campaigning in the constituency, with a series of leafleting and fundraising events taking place in recent weeks and in the coming months.
An Essex Reform source told GB News: “North West Essex is 100 per cent in play. We have a fully functioning and growing branch.
“With their sizable and expanding volunteer network, and the general enthusiasm for Reform in that part of the county, I’ve no doubt that the tiny and ever-reducing lead the Tories have in the polls for North West Essex will evaporate further between now and the General Election.”
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during the Reform UK North West Essex conference at Parklands Quendon Hall
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North West Essex, formerly known as Saffron Walden, has been held by the Tories since 1922, with Badenoch first winning the seat in 2017.
Badenoch won her seat by 27,594 votes in the 2019 General Election, with her majority collapsing to just 2,610 last year.
Despite Reform UK finishing behind Labour to end up in third place, Merlin Strategy founder Scarlett Maguire suggested the shift in the opinion polls now makes North West Essex a prime target.
“At the moment, it’s underpriced that if both Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch are in place, they both lose their seats,” Maguire told GB News.
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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking at their local election campaign launch at The Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire | PASpeaking specifically about the battle for North West Essex, Maguire explained: “Reform is staking out its claims to Essex, generally.
“Essex didn’t hold council elections this year, they’re likely delayed until next year.
“But Reform will be using that Green tactic of getting in on the council first, taking definitive control, then embed locally with lots of activists and then stake out their claim for the rest of the county with lots of MPs.”
Essex was widely expected to fall into Reform UK's hands before its county council poll was cancelled as part of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner's plans to rejig devolution in England.
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Maguire added: “Labour came second but you can only think that the Labour vote would probably collapse there, at least somewhat.”
YouGov’s recent MRP poll puts Tory support in North West Essex at its lowest level ever at 28 per cent.
Meanwhile, Reform UK has soared into second by almost doubling its vote share to 25 per cent, leaving Labour down in third on 20 per cent.
The mega-survey also found that a number of top Tories would currently lose their seats to Reform UK, including Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly and Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel.
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Kemi Badenoch | PABadenoch might also have to contend with facing a star candidate at the next General Election, having last time faced off against Grant StClair-Armstrong
StClair-Armstrong was dismissed as Reform UK’s challenger over his previous support for the British National Party.
However, Reform UK insiders are more than confident that Badenoch will face a challenge from a much more serious threat.
The People’s Channel also understands that ex-Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf is searching for a seat to contest at the next General Election and could be tempted to stand in one of Essex’s 18 constituencies.