“Clacton is going nowhere,” a former Tory MP once said of the seat Nigel Farage is hoping to win for a second time.
“Its voters are going nowhere, it’s rather sad, and there’s nothing more to say.”
But Matthew Parris, who emerged as a leading liberal Tory commentator and arch-Brexit basher following his political career, found plenty more to say of a once-loyal Tory town.
“I am not arguing that we should be careless of the needs of struggling people and places such as Clacton,” Mr Parris sneered.
“But I am arguing – if I am honest – that we should be careless of their opinions.”
For the people who call the Essex Riviera home, Mr Parris’s remarks still leave a mark today.
Outside the Moon & Starfish, where Mr Farage launched his 2024 bid for the seaside seat, the self-styled “Mr and Mrs Clacton” fired back.
“People never seem to talk enough about the good things,” the former Asda worker said.
“I read the other day in the news that we don’t have enough trees. I can see plenty just over there.
“We have one of the best piers in the world, the airshow last year was unbelievable, and the community spirit is better than anywhere I know.”
But part of Clacton’s story comes from a neighbourhood just along the coast.
Jaywick, once the heartbeat of domestic tourism, is now known as the most deprived neighbourhood in England.
Despite its reputation, the people of Jaywick appeared to be trying to make a fist of it.
The Never Say Die pub, where a punter can nurse a Foster’s top for just £4.45, is preparing for something much bigger than the Clacton by-election.
“We’ve got the first-ever Jaywick Carnival starting on Saturday,” a member of the bar staff told GB News.
“It’s all over Facebook and people are really looking forward to it.
A local resident added: “There’s a real sense of community here. People are getting involved. We are friendly and just want to have a nice time.”
When Mr Farage triggered a by-election earlier this month, the Reform UK leader’s rivals were quick to accuse him of bringing a circus to Clacton.
The 62-year-old, who won Clacton in 2024 with a majority of 8,045, dared the establishment to blink after coming under fire for pocketing a £5million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
“He went on telly having a hissy fit,” Tory leader Kemi Badenoch roared.
Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham added: “This is a gimmick designed to distract from serious allegations about Farage’s funders.”
But the main parties stared down Mr Farage’s gamble by refusing to field candidates in Clacton, instead opening the door to a record-busting 34 challengers.
Speaking to GB News moments before his CPAC speech, Mr Farage said: “Since being elected two years ago, I have loved every minute of representing this great area and all of its people.
“There is a remarkable and positive community spirit here which is rarely acknowledged by the often London-based chattering classes.
“Calling the by-election was not a decision I made lightly but the people here should be the judge of my record, not the media or a kangaroo court in Parliament.
“Meanwhile, the old parties have refused to stand against me. This cowardice shows their contempt for local people. They don’t care about Clacton, don’t think their opinions matter.
“I trust local people, many of whom I now count as friends, to be able to tell the difference between the truth and media lies, and to know an establishment stitch-up when they see one.”
GB News understands the other parties will field candidates in Clacton if the parliamentary standards commissioner decides to suspend Mr Farage following his investigation into Mr Harborne’s £5million gift.
A suspension could result in a recall petition being held in Clacton, potentially forcing voters to go to the polls for the second time in a year.
However, for now at least, the campaign is between Mr Farage and some wild outsiders.
Count Binface, who appears to have secured some support from the Westminster commentariat, threw his hat into the race.
Meanwhile, Rejoin EU candidate John Stevens is looking to defeat Mr Farage for a second time after he managed to outpoll the then-Ukip man in Buckingham in 2010.
During GB News’s visit to Clacton, there was no noticeable political paraphernalia.
Revved Up, a biker-styled cafe in Walton-on-the-Naze, was the only place putting Reform UK leaflets on display.
“We are keeping them up,” one member of staff told GB News. “Nigel came in here the other day and it’s now on Reform’s social media.”
He added: “I hope you’re not one of those lefties.”
However, the lack of turquoise banners did not necessarily mean politics was off the table.
Shortly after Andy Burnham’s coronation as Labour leader, ‘Mrs Clacton’ said: “I voted for Reform last time. What I will say is that since they got in at the council, roads are being fixed, a lot of roads, and that is something that is needed.”
‘Mr Clacton’, who moved to the area from Edinburgh around four decades ago, added with his Caledonian brogue: “Labour doesn’t understand real people anymore. They call this by-election a sham, but Makerfield was a complete farce.
“We’ve got a Prime Minister coming in that we barely know. I’ve never voted, but I could see that Boris Johnson was popular. Nigel Farage is also popular, and he understands working people. I don’t trust any politicians, but this £5million, I don’t think any of them are any different.”
While Westminster will hope Clacton is clinging onto every word in Parliament, the coastal constituency Mr Farage wants to hold onto painted a different picture.
Not a single gull looked up when Mr Burnham took to the stage, with punters inside the Moon & Starfish instead carrying on eating their ham, egg and chips and chatting about England’s World Cup heartbreak as if nothing had even happened.
One woman, who had ventured up from Romford, was even keen to tell GB News about her plans to buy her children ice cream on the seafront.
And if the establishment decided to scratch beneath the surface, the issues that propelled Mr Farage to win the seat in 2024 remain as salient as ever.
Dave, who was enjoying the sun at the Never Say Die in Jaywick, said: “Nigel’s done nothing wrong to me, but this migration crisis is out of control.
“They landed at Holland-on-Sea the other day. It’s ridiculous. We need to fix it.
“I’ve got my own plan to stop the small boats. It’ll only take a year. Dump them on the Isle of Wight and get the islanders on the mainland.”
As Elvis Presley’s Always on My Mind blared from the speakers, Dave added: “But he really should have stood firm against them. They want to get him out, of course, but he shouldn’t have resigned.”
But Mr Farage, who secured 46.2 per cent of the vote in 2024, is certainly at risk of an anti-Reform candidate hoovering up support.
“We just need to make sure we get the anti-Farage vote out,” one man said on Frinton-on-Sea’s leafy high street. “I do think that Count Binface could win, and I think that’s rather funny.”
A Reform supporter even suggested Mr Farage could struggle in Frinton on polling day, with it being seen as a more Tory-leaning part of the constituency.
Frinton, which is sandwiched between Holland-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze, is widely regarded as an outlier to much of the constituency.
House prices in the town exceed the national average at just under £400,000 and its low economic activity stems from its high proportion of retirees rather than joblessness.
Perhaps the thing that demonstrated the difference between Frinton and the rest of the constituency was the price for fish and chips.
While one seafront establishment in Clacton was offering budget fish and chips for £6.95, GB News found Frinton’s only fish and chip shop was selling one small portion for £12.70.
Despite facing a challenge in the Tory-leaning town once dubbed “England’s most conservative seaside resort” by the BBC, Reform UK received 46.7 per cent in Frinton & Walton at the 2026 Local Elections, putting its support at around the same level as the party amassed across Tendring Borough.
“We’ve got multiple teams heading out to each ward,” one Reform campaigner told GB News.
“We’ve had positive responses when people see our rosettes, and I think Nigel’s establishment narrative is really resonating with voters.”
JL Partners co-founder James Johnson also spoke to GB News after The People’s Channel visited Clacton.
Explaining why Mr Farage chose Clacton in the first place, Mr Johnson said: “Clacton is slightly unusual, and that’s why Farage chose it.
“It’s a bit more Leave than the national average, it’s elected a Ukip MP twice before, and it’s much older and whiter than the national average.
“All of those things provide a much stronger picture for Reform, though there are some limitations to what it can say nationally.”
However, Mr Johnson also pointed out that Mr Parris’s previous assessment of why the elites should ignore the people of Clacton poses huge risks.
“There are a lot of people like voters in Clacton across the country — particularly in Leave seats.
“Although mathematically, if you lined up every seat in the country, Clacton would sit further along that line than the average, it still speaks to a working-class England, and that’s very important to winning seats nationally.
“Politicians and elites need to be very careful not to think that just because Clacton is different on these metrics, it’s its own micro-state — think Hartlepool. It tells us a lot about the state of the country, even if it is an outlier.”
And Mr Johnson also issued a warning to the parties which decided against fielding candidates against Mr Farage.
He said: “It’s all well and good to laugh about the Count Binface stuff, but for voters in a by-election, they’re not turning up for a joke.
“This is serious, they’re voting for an MP. Opponents of Farage may not vote at all, but it’s quite belittling to the voters of Clacton to assume this is a joke to them.
“Like voters everywhere, they’re voting for who they think is best to represent them.
“It’s slightly insulting that Westminster is treating this like a sideshow, a bit of fun.
“Their defence will be that Farage created this circus himself, and they have a point — but for people in Clacton, frustrated as they are, this is still a crystallising moment, both for the area and for the country. Westminster elites risk belittling them.”
