内容摘要：Asked if Reform UK would be investigating the comments, Farage said: "No, don't be ridiculous.

Asked if Reform UK would be investigating the comments, Farage said: "No, don't be ridiculous.

as former Cheshire East councillor and local magistrate Sarah Pochin.Farage said: "Have we picked her because she's a woman? No. We picked her because the best candidate."

He said Reform UK could "do with more female figures", but added "we'll get them through merit".Opinion polls consistently suggest Reform UK is more popular among men than women.indicated 30% of men and 19% of women would vote for the party in a hypothetical general election.

Farage faced a question about what he planned to do to appeal to female voters.He said young men were "more attracted to small-c conservatism" and suggested they backed his party because they were more "impulsive" than women.

"That has nothing to do with me whatsoever, that's just the way it is," he said.

Farage said society was trying to "feminise" young men in a way that made the views of self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate more appealing to them."It has really affected my business turnover," Ms Unwin said. "My shop is blocked off at one side - but when the work is done, I expect this will be a busy little area."

The new covering will provide outdoor market traders with protection from the elements.The council hopes it will become a hub for cultural events in the town.

Michael Barlow, who runs the Bow Street Cafe on the market square, said 18 months of growth in his business had "flatlined" since the building work began."We're not getting new customers through the door," he said.