IN the classic 1989 film Field Of Dreams, Kevin Costner is inspired to create a baseball pitch after hearing a voice say: “If you build it, he will come.”
And that philosophy is at the heart of the decision by landlords Peter Flynn and Nick Lowe to turn a cheap boozer into the nation’s first Reform UK pub.
“Well, we built it and they are coming,” Peter, 53, proudly tells me, with a pint in hand inside the hub he believes will lead to Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister by 2029.
Two weeks ago, The Talbot in Blackpool shed its near-100-year-old Conservative Club ties and turned from blue to turquoise, courtesy of a paint job to its exterior.
According to the owners, customers are ecstatic — not just for pints as cheap as £2.60 and beef stew costing £2, but to have a safe space to discuss real issues plaguing the British public.
They claim takings are up threefold since the rebrand and that their “common sense” punters have travelled from as far as Belfast, Glasgow and London.
It comes after Reform gave the Tories and Labour a bloody nose at elections earlier this month, taking control of ten councils and two mayoralities as well as adding a fifth MP at a by-election.
Now Mark Butcher, the party’s chairman for Blackpool and Fleetwood, warns they are not just satisfied with establishing a “good foothold within Lancashire”, but have plans to take over pubs and clubs across the country.
Mark says: “We’re the people’s army — we’re rising up and the colour is turquoise. There will be no red wall, no blue wall by the time we’re finished.
“Real politics is on the ground, where people discuss issues on a daily basis, so we’ve hit the jackpot at The Talbot.”
It is a sentiment shared by ex-warehouse manager Keith Pickering, 60, who considers the pub a political Mecca where you can “speak your mind” without judgment and engage in debate.
There was a steady 20-plus throng of regulars during The Sun’s early afternoon visit, and it is regularly joked that you can buy a pint of “Remainer’s tears”.
The pub proudly flies a Union Jack flag in the lobby alongside Vote Reform flyers above the bar, beside a quadruple-sized billiards hall, which costs 50p a game.
Bartender Skye Reid, 18, tells us she can’t wait to cast her first vote for Reform.
She is thrilled by the news that Farage, whose party endorsed the pub, has promised the owners he will visit.
We’ll be in every day if Nigel is coming down. I love him. I want him to be Prime Minister, 100 per cent
Skye Reid
Skye tells us: “We’ll be in every day if Nigel is coming down.
“I love him. I want him to be Prime Minister, 100 per cent.
“I’m not a racist, it’s just so wrong that they house illegal immigrants before our homeless. They put them in hotels and give them everything on a plate. It’s frustrating.”
She is referring to the 220 hotels across the UK, including Blackpool’s Britannia Metropole on the promenade, which is just an eight-minute walk away.
Holidaymaker James Rooney, who is staying at the hotel with his family while visiting from Manchester, says he couldn’t wait to raise a glass in the UK’s first Reform pub, especially after “the disaster of the last election”.
The former staunch Conservative voter says: “My family always voted Labour because they used to be for the working man, but now it is the reverse. Both parties can fire off — we’ll go for Farage from now on.”
Jeremy Corbyn — unless he has a photo taken under our Reform pub sign, we wouldn’t serve him — and we’d charge him double
Peter
Many of the pubgoers are fuming over Keir Starmer’s recent U-turn over Brexit, which will see more Europeans travel for work and study, a crackdown on our agricultural industry and what has been described as a “humiliating surrender” of our fishing rights.
Plumber Dave Crowder, 64, says: “Labour has sold us down the river. All of their other policies are on the backburner — how can they do that?
“They claim it takes years to pass them but when it’s something they want, it’s sorted right away.”
The pub regulars’ tonic for the current crisis is Farage, and landlords Nick and Peter are well-versed, having consoled Blackpool residents over their struggles.
Peter claims they are “preventing anger turning into violence” by offering infuriated residents a chance for their voices to be heard.
The duo, who took over the pub in 2009, insist all “races, creeds, religions” are welcome in The Talbot, and they are not a “den for racists” — nor will they tolerate it.
They indeed appear to have somewhat of an open-door policy, with The Sun even encountering an unflinching Labour supporter propping up the bar. But there’s one figure who may not be so welcome.
“Jeremy Corbyn — unless he has a photo taken under our Reform pub sign, we wouldn’t serve him — and we’d charge him double,” Peter says with a laugh.
With up to four years to go before another general election, there is a long road ahead for Reform UK.
And no doubt they will be hoping the ambitions of their Talbot faithful prove more than a field of dreams.
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