Distinctly average... Why Didcot is Little England

FAMoUs for its defunct power station cooling towers, Didcot might not seem the most exciting place in england.

And now analysts have confirmed that the oxfordshire railway town is indeed rather, well, average.

After looking at everything from ethnicity to house prices, statisticians say Didcot – population 25,000 – is the country’s most representative area.

it was found to be closest to the national average across a range of fields – making it a microcosm of wider society. Figures from the office for national statistics were analysed in 11 fields including marital status, employment, euroscepticism, vote share in the 2015 election and income.

Didcot mayor steve Connel hailed the findings as ‘tremendous’. But the town’s MP ed Vaizey – a tory former culture minister – said he thought the area was better than ‘average’.

‘Didcot is far from an average town, it’s really a magic town, but i think it’s great that Didcot is a microcosm of Britain,’ he told a local newspaper.

‘We have a significant retirement community and also a history of young professionals who come here to live and work. i am partic- ularly pleased that now i can stand up in Parliament and say that my constituency is the best representation of the public.’

the study, by Asi Data science, was inspired by the 1947 film Magic town, in which a pollster finds a place he believes perfectly represents national opinion.

the average household in Didcot has 2.5 people, while 11 per cent of the population is non-white British. Unemployment stands at 3 per cent, seven in ten people own their home and 86 per cent of people are in good health.

Marc Warner, chief executive of Asi, said: ‘Most people live in a bubble whereby their experiences in life are heavily influenced by the area they live in and the people they interact with. our study allows researchers and decision makers to better understand a “normal” life experience.

‘this could have huge benefits, giving decision makers a far better understanding of the challenges in their local area and the average experience of the people who live there – making them better placed to make informed decisions.’