And in the seaside town where a Reform UK candidate last week gave other parties a drubbing, the view was Labour had kicked back the vote in the two eastern counties, along with other regions of the country for two years because it was running scared of catching a cold.

Sylvia Warburton, from Wigan (Image: Chris Bishop)

Pensioners Ray and Sylvia Warburton, on holiday from the Labour stronghold of Wigan, in Lancashire, were waiting for a bus in the drizzle outside the Princess Theatre.

"I think they're running scared," said Mrs Warburton, 83. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

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© Eastern Daily Press