Post by John Chanin on May 15, 2020 15:58:54 GMT
This is a very distinctive seat, with unusual demographics and an interesting recent political history. The occupational and educational statistics suggest that it is a very working class seat, but this is only partly true. There is virtually no council housing, but quite a lot of private renting associated with its history as a seaside resort. However the percentage in managerial jobs is amongst the lowest 50 in the whole country, and those with degrees in the lowest 10. It is however an old constituency, with a lot of retirees, second only to Christchurch in the whole country for people over 65.
Just over half the seat consists of Clacton town. The town has been one of the worst victims of the decline of the English seaside resort, and is sadly rundown. Being a long way from anywhere makes it hard to attract alternative economic activity. The north part of the town (Holland on Sea) is slightly better off, and there are some council estates inland in the south. The town centre contains what’s left of the resort with its pier and other seaside amenities, where private renting is high in what were once rows of guest houses. Most of the housing inland was constructed in the boom years between the wars and in the immediate postwar period. To the south of the main town, slightly detached is Jaywick, famously one of the most deprived areas in the whole country. This was one of the Essex plotlands, where small plots were sold off after the first world war at minimal prices for people to build their own homes. No planning in those days, and many of the homes were and are very rough and ready. Only 7% of the population here have higher education and only 16% in managerial occupations, and a surprisingly high proportion is rented (privately - there is no council housing at all here).
Another quarter of the seat consists of the retirement ghettos of Frinton and Walton-on-the-Naze. The Naze is the headland, north of Clacton, and south of the watery maze of Hamford Water and its extensive marshy hinterland (a nature reserve), that separate the area from Harwich. These are much better off than Clacton, with wealthy retirees in bungalows, and a lot of purpose built housing for the elderly, some of which is rented. Frinton is famously genteel with next to no entertainment facilities or pubs, but suits those who choose to move here. There is a small rural element inland, amounting to only about 10,000 voters including the remote village of St Osyth with its priory, separated by more marshes from Brightlingsea, and just across the muddy estuary of the Colne from Mersea island.
Politically the seat was one of the hotbeds of UKIP activity, famously won by Douglas Carswell, who resigned from the Conservatives, forced a by-election, and then held onto the seat at the 2015 General Election, the only seat won by UKIP. Tendring District voted 70% Leave at the 2016 referendum, and the figure would have been even higher in the Clacton part of the district. Locally the council has been a sorry mess for several years. UKIP won almost all the seats at the 2015 council elections (only Frinton and the central Pier ward stayed with the Conservatives). But splits then abounded, as in Thanet, with the formation of Tendring First, and some other councillors becoming independent. At the 2019 council elections UKIP as such did hold three wards in South Clacton (including Jaywick) - a rare success at local elections that year. Tendring First took over Frinton, Independents won in Walton and St Osyth, and a Residents group in Holland. The Conservatives did win some seats in Clacton and the rural fringe, and run a minority administration in Tendring with opposition from 4 different groups of independents, not counting UKIP, and the Labour councillors in Harwich. Carswell stood down in 2017, and the parliamentary seat reverted to safe Conservative status. In 2019 with the anti-EU vote folded into the Conservatives, this was the 5th safest seat in the country, behind just the two south Lincolnshire seats, and two other Essex seats to the south (Maldon and Castle Point). The new MP is former actor Giles Watling.
North East Essex has given the Boundary Commission a great deal of trouble. Although the existing seat is within quota, they have chosen to add 5500 voters in villages to the west of the town, in order to reduce the size of constituencies elsewhere. This will add a few more votes to the Conservative majority.
Census data: owner-occupied 74% (104/573 in England & Wales), private rented 17% (181st), social rented 8% (559th).
:White 97%, Black 0%, South Asian 0%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 24% (540th), Routine & Semi-routine 38% (98th)
: Degree level 13%(567th), No qualifications 54%(3rd)
: Students 1.9% (568th), Over 65: 30% (2nd)
Just over half the seat consists of Clacton town. The town has been one of the worst victims of the decline of the English seaside resort, and is sadly rundown. Being a long way from anywhere makes it hard to attract alternative economic activity. The north part of the town (Holland on Sea) is slightly better off, and there are some council estates inland in the south. The town centre contains what’s left of the resort with its pier and other seaside amenities, where private renting is high in what were once rows of guest houses. Most of the housing inland was constructed in the boom years between the wars and in the immediate postwar period. To the south of the main town, slightly detached is Jaywick, famously one of the most deprived areas in the whole country. This was one of the Essex plotlands, where small plots were sold off after the first world war at minimal prices for people to build their own homes. No planning in those days, and many of the homes were and are very rough and ready. Only 7% of the population here have higher education and only 16% in managerial occupations, and a surprisingly high proportion is rented (privately - there is no council housing at all here).
Another quarter of the seat consists of the retirement ghettos of Frinton and Walton-on-the-Naze. The Naze is the headland, north of Clacton, and south of the watery maze of Hamford Water and its extensive marshy hinterland (a nature reserve), that separate the area from Harwich. These are much better off than Clacton, with wealthy retirees in bungalows, and a lot of purpose built housing for the elderly, some of which is rented. Frinton is famously genteel with next to no entertainment facilities or pubs, but suits those who choose to move here. There is a small rural element inland, amounting to only about 10,000 voters including the remote village of St Osyth with its priory, separated by more marshes from Brightlingsea, and just across the muddy estuary of the Colne from Mersea island.
Politically the seat was one of the hotbeds of UKIP activity, famously won by Douglas Carswell, who resigned from the Conservatives, forced a by-election, and then held onto the seat at the 2015 General Election, the only seat won by UKIP. Tendring District voted 70% Leave at the 2016 referendum, and the figure would have been even higher in the Clacton part of the district. Locally the council has been a sorry mess for several years. UKIP won almost all the seats at the 2015 council elections (only Frinton and the central Pier ward stayed with the Conservatives). But splits then abounded, as in Thanet, with the formation of Tendring First, and some other councillors becoming independent. At the 2019 council elections UKIP as such did hold three wards in South Clacton (including Jaywick) - a rare success at local elections that year. Tendring First took over Frinton, Independents won in Walton and St Osyth, and a Residents group in Holland. The Conservatives did win some seats in Clacton and the rural fringe, and run a minority administration in Tendring with opposition from 4 different groups of independents, not counting UKIP, and the Labour councillors in Harwich. Carswell stood down in 2017, and the parliamentary seat reverted to safe Conservative status. In 2019 with the anti-EU vote folded into the Conservatives, this was the 5th safest seat in the country, behind just the two south Lincolnshire seats, and two other Essex seats to the south (Maldon and Castle Point). The new MP is former actor Giles Watling.
North East Essex has given the Boundary Commission a great deal of trouble. Although the existing seat is within quota, they have chosen to add 5500 voters in villages to the west of the town, in order to reduce the size of constituencies elsewhere. This will add a few more votes to the Conservative majority.
Census data: owner-occupied 74% (104/573 in England & Wales), private rented 17% (181st), social rented 8% (559th).
:White 97%, Black 0%, South Asian 0%, Mixed 1%, Other 1%
: Managerial & professional 24% (540th), Routine & Semi-routine 38% (98th)
: Degree level 13%(567th), No qualifications 54%(3rd)
: Students 1.9% (568th), Over 65: 30% (2nd)
2010 | % | 2015 | % | 2017 | % | 2019 | % | |
Conservative | 22,867 | 53.0% | 16,205 | 36.7% | 27,031 | 61.2% | 31,438 | 72.3% |
Labour | 10,799 | 25.0% | 6,364 | 14.4% | 11,203 | 25.4% | 6,736 | 15.5% |
Liberal Democrat | 5,577 | 12.9% | 812 | 1.8% | 887 | 2.0% | 2,541 | 5.8% |
UKIP | 19,642 | 44.4% | 3,357 | 7.6% | ||||
Green | 535 | 1.2% | 1,184 | 2.7% | 719 | 1.6% | 1,225 | 2.8% |
Others | 3,345 | 7.8% | 948 | 2.2% | 1,566 | 3.6% | ||
Majority | 12,068 | 28.0% | -3437 | -7.8% | 15,828 | 35.9% | 24,702 | 56.8% |
