𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Moon & Starfish pub in Clacton-on-Sea quickly became symbolic with Nigel Farage’s campaign to become the town’s MP in 2024. He visited the Wetherspoon boozer for media interviews, met locals for a cup of tea on polling day and even had a McDonald’s banana milkshake hurled over him by an angry protester.

Now, around two years on from being elected, the Reform UK leader has resigned as MP, triggering a by-election in which he will stand. I visited the Moon & Starfish on the afternoon of his resignation to see if the news had dampened the mood in the Essex seaside resort town. It soon became clear many of the locals were too busy enjoying the July heatwave to pay attention to the news.

I arrived in the boozer, located on the town’s sweeping seafront, at around 6pm to find scenes of joy and laughter. Groups of people were sat enjoying food and drinks as the sun beated down on Clacton.

I strolled up to the bar (to order a soft drink) and overheard a few murmurs about Farage’s resignation. One local even saw my laptop and asked me if I was a journalist before insisting his MP was the victim of a “witch hunt”.

Others seemed less bothered, as they focussed their full attention on the World Cup clash between Egypt and Argentina. Their attention wasn’t on politics, it was on the football.

I mentioned to a couple of people about the news of his resignation and they looked back with a baffled stare. They didn’t even know he had resigned.

Parts of Clacton are some of the most deprived in the UK, with the village of Jaywick regularly ranked among the most impoverished places nationwide. The area has faced a surge in media scrutiny since Farage’s election which has culminated in a media circus on Tuesday afternoon.

While the locals sat in the pub, reporters walked the streets trying to speak with the people of the town for their reaction stories. Camera crews were also dotted across the seafront as they reported on Farage’s resignation.

The people here are friendly and willing to talk about the situation, but I’m sure they’d rather just sit with a pint to enjoy the sunshine. They didn’t ask for a media frenzy on a weekday in July.

As I sat down and took in the atmosphere of the bustling pub, one thing quickly became clear: the people of Clacton are ordinary Britons who deserve an MP who stands up for them. They deserve an MP who puts their interests first, ahead of political stunts and party games.