Defeated Tory and Labour rivals describe force of Reform ‘machine’ as police assess claims of overspending

The Tory and Labour candidates who Nigel Farage beat to win his Westminster seat of Clacton have described a Reform campaign that felt like a “juggernaut”, as police began assessing claims of overspending by the Reform UK leader.

The candidates spoke after a former aide alleged that Reform UK falsely reported election expenses in Clacton, where Farage won in last year’s general election. On Monday, Essex police said they were assessing a report of “alleged misreported expenditure by a political party” after a referral from the Metropolitan police.