Saying I’m from Clacton these days feels like admitting something illicit.
No longer is it just known as a seaside town and the former home of singer Sade.
Now, it’s home to Reform MP Nigel Farage and the place where 70% voted for Brexit.
It’s easy to dismiss the area as a right-wing hub of hate. The TV crews who’ve been hanging around the town centre on Tuesday afternoons have certainly found plenty of Farage fans.But Clacton residents have felt forgotten about for many years, and it’s this lack of interest that has prompted some to switch allegiances.
Of course it’s ironic that, if we’re being honest, all of the record 32 candidates will also forget about Clacton once the polling stations close.
The town has become a political football. Whoever wins, and it will be Farage, those potholes in Jaywick will still be there, unemployment will remain high and some voters will still look to blame immigration as the cause of their troubles.
Clacton deserves better than what it’s been getting and needs an MP who actually knows the place. It matters not who comes out on top in this by-election. The real winner will not be Clacton.
