Apps, activists and an ‘air war’: Essex campaign is test of Reform UK’s professionalisation

Nigel Farage’s party sees local elections as showcase for a sleeker approach borrowing from an unlikely source Nigel Farage was midway through his walkabout of Waltham Abbey when a hunting horn loudly sounded on the Essex market town’s pedestrianised high street. “Oi oiii!” exclaimed the owner of Ouch Tattoos, Rob Chillingworth, putting down the instrument and reaching out a welcoming hand to the approaching Reform UK leader. For Farage, this was the latest stop in a midweek tour of half a dozen