A familiar face will be on the ballot paper when Waverley voters go to the polls next month to elect the inaugural MP for Farnham and Bordon.

But blue won’t be the colour for Ged Hall, as the former Tory and deputy WBC leader will be attempting to upset the applecart as the Reform UK candidate.

Having left the Conservatives after becoming disillusioned with the fallout from Brexit, Mr Hall says he’s received more support as a Reform candidate then he ever did as a Tory.

And although he’s aware of the challenges that face him and his party over the next fortnight, he’s confident his party will make an impact whatever happens this election.

“To my mind, Reform UK represents common sense policies,” said Mr Hall, who agrees with the perception is that his party is what the Conservatives should be and used to be.

“Over the last few years I increasingly felt that successive governments have ducked the larger national issues to pander to party politics.

“There is a groundswell of support for Reform UK because its policies go some way to address the issues that matter to normal people.”

Mr Hall campaigned for Vote Leave during the referendum and when they emerged victorious, he expected the government to “take advantage of the economic and social freedoms” that resulted from deregulation. But the “bonfire of EU regulations” wasn’t lit, leaving the people with the worst of both worlds.

He added: “This coupled with leaders constantly resigning have led to a party very much split on key, fundamental issues.

“For these reasons I felt I could not continue to support the Conservative Party.”

Although Reform UK are newcomers to the political scene, Mr Hall has been encouraged by the support shown and the excitement caused by Nigel Farage’s return, with 10,000 new members joining within a week of his announcement to stand for MP in Clacton.

He added: “In all the elections I have ever campaigned in, and that is quite a few, I have never seen anything remotely approaching this. People who I have never met, coming up and shaking me hand and patting our volunteers on the back offering their support.

“You don’t get much of that in the Conservatives.”

Reform’s policies – the term ‘manifesto’ is not being banded – include reducing taxes on people and businesses, a plan to cut NHS waiting lists and ending net-zero and freezing legal migration. His local aims including giving Whitehill & Bordon the infrastructure it desperately needs and reducing traffic in Farnham.

The level of support for Reform UK in Farnham and Bordon remains to be seen given their new status but their candidate believes he and his colleagues are doing something right.

“We are a new party, some have not heard of us, some distrust us and some prefer to stick with what they know,” he ruminated.

“But our job is to let people know what we stand for and let them make their decision at the ballot box.”