The country is slipping away. The whole place, slowly, but London suddenly, blinding glass slabs becoming East End blocks, ‘SPLENDID NEW APARTMENTS!’ turning to marshland, to golf clubs, to small towns and a train station, Laindon, Essex, which has a nice 4×4 Porsche parked outside. Decline is the mood of Britain, and I was going to Essex to talk to people about it. Any political energy left in this country is behind Reform, and lately Nigel Farage has been using a new label for his people. ‘We are the party of workers, but also the party of entrepreneurs,’ he said recently. Did he mean the two simultaneously? The appeal to rich and poor and the people done good… Something in that mix sounded like an evocation of Essex.
Most popular
Jonathan Sacerdoti
Greta Thunberg should thank Israel for intercepting her Gaza selfie ship
At a car boot sale in Dunton, near Laindon, Barry has just sold a piece of Hitler-themed merchandise, a piggy bank where the coins go in the Führer’s mouth.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in