Nigel Farage ‘sad’ as Jaywick remains England’s most deprived neighbourhood

Nigel Farage said he is “sad” to see an area of his constituency once again named the most deprived neighbourhood in England, describing parts of it as “very depressed”.

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 in Essex, 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 topped the list in the three previous publications in 2019, 2015 and 2010.

The area specified takes in 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 sad that things aren’t improving more quickly” and while he felt he had helped with investment and tourism for the area, “there’s 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 urged by anti-poverty campaigners and some Labour MPs to raise taxes on gambling firms, to cover the cost of lifting the two-child benefit cap.

Mr Farage added: “I’m worried with the budget coming up that the situation might get worse.”

Describing parts of Jaywick as “very depressed”, he said: “Everybody just feels very, very burdened these days.”

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