Nigel Farage ‘sad’ as Clacton area remains most deprived neighbourhood
Nigel Farage has expressed his dismay that a community in his constituency has once again been named England’s poorest, describing parts of it as “very depressed”.
The latest official data confirms that an area of the seaside village of Jaywick, near Clacton-on-Sea in Tendring local authority, Essex, has been classed as the poorest area for the fourth year in a row.
Blackpool areas, along with new neighborhoods in Hastings and Rotherham, make up most of the remaining top 10.
These findings, which detail the relative levels of deprivation in England’s neighborhoods in 2025, were published by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on Thursday.
Jaywick had topped the list in three previous releases in 2019, 2015 and 2010.
The designated area includes the Brooklands estate and the Jaywick Sands promenade.
Mr Farage, who was elected MP for Clacton in July 2024, told the PA news agency he was “obviously upset that things are not improving quicker” and that he felt he was helping the area with investment and tourism but “there is a limit to what one person can do”.
He expressed concern about potential gambling reforms appearing in next month’s Budget, which he said could affect slot machines and pier amusement arcades.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been called by anti-poverty campaigners and some Labor MPs to increase taxes on gambling companies to cover the cost of removing the two-child allowance limit.
Mr Farage added: “I worry that the situation could get worse as the budget approaches.”
Describing parts of Jaywick as “very depressing”, he said: “Everyone feels very, very burdened these days.”
Jaywick gained international attention in 2018 after it was used in a US election campaign ad showing a bleak image of the area, unpaved roads and dilapidated houses, to warn voters of the consequences of not supporting Donald Trump ahead of the US midterm elections.
The latest data highlights the “scale of the challenge” but “does not reflect the progress made since 2019 or the strength of the people who call Jaywick Sands home,” according to a statement on the Tendring District Council website.
Council leader Mark Stephenson said: “Jaywick Sands is a truly special place, full of heart, pride and real community spirit.
“We have made real progress together with local people and we have a bold plan to go further. But we can’t do it alone – we need the government to play its part.
“We are calling for £100 million of national flood funding to be allocated to Jaywick Sands and the creation of a cross-departmental taskforce to help solve the policy barriers holding our community back.
“Jaywick Sands deserves a future worthy of its spirit and we are ready to work with residents, the national government and the new mayor of Essex from 2026 to deliver this.”
MHCLG said Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Hartlepool, Kingston-upon-Hull and Manchester were local authority areas with the highest proportion of neighborhoods among the poorest in England.
The London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney were the poorest areas in terms of income deprivation affecting children.
The department said both the boroughs, as well as three other London boroughs of Newham, Islington and Southwark, were among the most deprived areas in terms of income deprivation affecting older people.
