Reform UK is planning to use a US-style primary to select its candidate to challenge Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at the next general election, opening the contest to voters beyond the party’s membership.
Voters in North West Essex will be invited to choose Reform’s prospective parliamentary candidate, in a move designed to broaden the party’s appeal in a constituency where Badenoch secured a majority of 2,610 in 2024.
The seat has emerged as a significant target for Nigel Farage’s party after Reform made substantial gains in Essex at this year’s local elections.
Reform took control of Essex County Council from the Conservatives, ending 25 years of Conservative administration and underlining the pressure facing the party in parts of the county.
Under the proposed primary process, the local Reform branch will select three candidates. Those finalists will then be put to a wider local vote before the eventual candidate is chosen to contest the parliamentary seat.
The candidates will also participate in a hustings chaired by Farage, giving the Reform leader a prominent role in the selection process.
The initiative marks a departure from the traditional approach of selecting parliamentary candidates through party membership structures and could allow Reform to build a local campaign around a candidate with a broader electoral mandate.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “The people of North West Essex will be able to select a candidate that will actually show up for the area and form part of the next Government.”
“Reform UK members will be out in droves every day until the election showing that only Reform can win in this seat and beat Labour at the next election.”
The contest is likely to be closely watched as Badenoch seeks to defend her parliamentary base while leading a Conservative party attempting to recover from its heavy losses at the 2024 general election.
For Reform, North West Essex offers an opportunity to test whether the momentum it generated in the county elections can be converted into parliamentary gains.
The primary will also provide an early indication of how Farage’s party intends to organise constituency campaigns as the next general election approaches.
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