Jaywick at top of deprivation league table for fourth time

A seaside neighbourhood in Essex, part of the parliamentary constituency represented by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, has once again been named the most deprived in England.

The latest official data shows that an area of the coastal village of Jaywick, close to the town of Clacton-on-Sea in the local authority of Tendring, has been classed the most deprived neighbourhood for the fourth time in a row.

Areas of Blackpool again make up most of the rest of the top 10, along with new appearances for neighbourhoods in Hastings and Rotherham.

Thursday’s data, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), presented relative levels of deprivation in areas or neighbourhoods of England in 2025.

Jaywick had previously topped the list in the 2019, 2015 and 2010 publications.

Mr Farage was elected MP for Clacton in July 2024.

Jaywick received international coverage in 2018 after it was used in a US election campaign advert, with a bleak picture of the area, showing unpaved roads and dilapidated homes, to warn voters about the consequences of not backing Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections in the US.

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.

“Together with local residents, we’ve made real progress and have a bold plan to go even further. But we cannot do this alone – we need Government to do its part.

“We’re calling for £100 million of national flood funding to be allocated to Jaywick Sands, and for a cross-departmental taskforce to help resolve the policy barriers that hold our community back.

“Jaywick Sands deserves a future that matches its spirit — and we’re ready to work with residents, national government, and the new Essex Mayor from 2026, to make that happen.”

MHCLG said Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Hartlepool, Kingston upon Hull and Manchester are the local authority districts with the highest proportions of neighbourhoods among the most deprived in England.

The London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney were the most deprived in terms of income deprivation affecting children.

Both boroughs, as well as three other London boroughs of Newham, Islington and Southwark ranked as the most deprived regarding income deprivation affecting older people, the department said.