Clacton
County constituency for theHouse of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Boundary of Clacton in the East of England
County	Essex
Population	85,359 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	75,959 (2023)[2]
Major settlements	Clacton-on-Sea,Frinton-on-Sea andWalton-on-the-Naze
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Nigel Farage (Reform)
Seats	One
Created from	Harwich

Clacton is aconstituency^{[n 1]} inEssex represented in theHouse of Commons of theUK Parliament since2024 byNigel Farage, the leader of theReform UK party. It is centred on and named after the seaside town ofClacton-on-Sea.

Clacton is almost completely coastal, comprisingseaside resorts along theTendring peninsula, includingClacton-on-Sea,Frinton-on-Sea andWalton-on-the-Naze. It shares an inland boundary with just one constituency –Harwich and North Essex.

Similar to other coastal seats, such asChristchurch in Dorset, Clacton's electorate comprises among the oldest in the country with a high proportion ofretirees and not many non-white residents. The area has experienced a considerable influx ofWhite British families from multicultural areas ofEast London such asBarking andDagenham, leading to the town of Clacton becoming known as "Little Dagenham".^[3]

Thevillage ofJaywick was, in both theindices of deprivation 2010 and 2015, identified as the single most deprivedLSOA in England, out of around 32,000, with unemployment estimated at almost 50%. Many homes are essentiallybeach huts and lack basic amenities. In 2018, Jaywick was visited by theUnited Nations special rapporteur for Poverty,Professor Philip Alston, as part of his examination into the causes ofextreme poverty.^[4] Jaywick was named the most deprived place in the UK for the third consecutive year in 2019.^[5]

According to the2021 UK Census, 96.1% of the population are White, 1.3% Asian, 0.6% Black, 0.4% other ethnic groups, and 1.6% multiple ethnic groups. 5.1% were born outside of the UK. The religious composition of the constituency is 50.4% Christian, 41.9% no religion, and 7.7% other.^[6]

Electoral Calculus categorises the seat as being part of the "Strong Right" demographic, those who have fiscally conservative views on the economy but are also fairly nationalist and socially conservative, alongside strong support forBrexit. Clacton is also, in general, highlydeprived, in terms of employment, income and education, when measured comparatively with the rest of the UK, with 64% of the constituency being impoverished, according to the site.^[7] In addition to this, the latest government labour data has also revealed that economic inactivity in Clacton is at 46.8% – more than twice the 21.7% UK average.^[8]

Anciently under the jurisdiction of theBishop of Rochester inEssex and part of thePetreestates,^[9] theseat of Clacton was established for the2010 general election following areview of parliamentary representation ofEssex by theBoundary Commission for England.^[10] It was formed out of the abolishedHarwich constituency, excluding the town ofHarwich itself and surrounding areas.

The constituency'sMember of Parliament until 3 May 2017, wasDouglas Carswell, who had previously sat for theHarwich constituency since gaining that seat for theConservatives in2005.^[11][12]

On 28 August 2014, Carswell announced his defection toUKIP.^[13] Although not required to seek re-election following a change of party allegiance, Carswell triggered aby-election, held on 9 October 2014, in which he stood as the UKIP candidate^[14] and was elected as the party's first MP.^[15] The then UKIP leaderNigel Farage declared that the result in Clacton had "shaken up British politics".^[16] Carswell retained the seat for UKIP at the2015 general election, seeing his majority cut by roughly three-quarters, with an 11% swing to the Conservatives. Carswell then became UKIP's sole MP in theHouse of Commons, asMark Reckless, a fellow Conservative defector, losthis seat.^[17]

On 25 March 2017, Carswell announced on hisblog that he was quitting UKIP to sit as an independent MP,^[18] saying that "I switched to UKIP because I desperately wanted us to leave the EU. Now we can be certain thatthat is going to happen, I have decided that I will be leaving UKIP".^[19]

AfterPrime MinisterTheresa May called asnap election on 19 April 2017, Carswell announced that he would not stand for re-election and endorsed the Conservative Party candidateGiles Watling.^[20] Watling was elected at the2017 general election; at that election, UKIP's share of the vote fell by 36.8%, one of its largest declines in the country, and the subsequent Conservative victory in Clacton marked the first time every constituency inEssex had returned a Conservative MP since1987. In2019, Giles Watling, won re-election on the back of a majority of 24,702, increasing his vote share by 11.1% from 2017.

Ahead of the2024 general election, it was announced thatNigel Farage, who had taken over as leader ofReform UK mid-campaign, would contest the Clacton constituency.^[21] AYouGov poll published on 19 June 2024 (using theMRP technique) predicted that Farage would defeat Watling.^[22] Farage won the seat with 46.2% of the vote.^[23] The swing from the Conservative Party to the Reform Party of 45.1% is the largest swing for any seat at a UK general election. For more detail seeClacton in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

Map of boundaries 2010–2024

TheDistrict of Tendringwards of Alton Park, Beaumont and Thorpe, Bockings Elm, Burrsville,Frinton, Golf Green, Hamford, Haven, Holland and Kirby, Homelands,Little Clacton and Weeley, Pier, Rush Green, St Bartholomews, St James, St Johns, St Marys,St Osyth and Point Clear, St Pauls and Walton.^[24]

The new seat consisted essentially of the formerHarwich constituency, minus the town ofHarwich itself and a few nearby villages, plusSt Osyth andWeeley, transferred from the abolishedNorth Essex constituency.

Following the2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The District of Tendring wards of: Bluehouse; Burrsville; Cann Hall; Coppins; Eastcliff; Frinton; Homelands; Kirby Cross;Kirby-le-Soken & Hamford;Little Clacton; Pier; St. Bartholomew's; St. James; St. John's;St Osyth; St. Paul's; The Bentleys & Frating; The Oakleys & Wix; Thorpe, Beaumont & Great Holland; Walton; Weeley & Tendring; West Clacton & Jaywick Sands.^[25]

The revised contents are expanded slightly by the addition of some inland rural areas and villages, transferred fromHarwich and North Essex.

Harwich prior to 2010

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex
• See of Rochester
• Tendring District
• Vista Road Recreation Ground

• nomis Constituency Profile for Clacton – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
• Clacton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) atMapIt UK
• Clacton UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) atMapIt UK

51°50′N1°09′E / 51.83°N 1.15°E /51.83; 1.15

• Clacton-on-Sea
• Parliamentary constituencies in Essex
• Tendring
• Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2010
• Nigel Farage

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