Anger over Trump pal’s slur on Essex village
AMERICA certainly has its fair share of run-down neighbourhoods.
So it’s rather surprising that a Trumpsupporting US politician picked a picture of an English seaside village to illustrate deprivation for an election advert.
Less surprisingly, the residents of Jaywick Sands in Essex are a rather annoyed at being deemed a perfect example of an American community in decline.
A Republican congressional candidate has used the photo of Jaywick – featuring neglected houses and an unpaved, pot-holed road – to warn voters how their streets could end up if they don’t vote for him.
It also shows a mocked-up billboard featuring Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, beside the words: ‘Only YOU can stop this from becoming reality!’
Admittedly Jaywick was the most deprived English neighbourhood between 2010 and 2015, according to Whitehall figures.
But the election advert on Dr Nick Stella’s Facebook page has infuriated locals – not just because their community is thousands of miles away from America, but also because millions of pounds has been pumped into the area since the photo was taken.
Paul Honeywood, a councillor for Jaywick, said it was ‘appalling’ that the photo had been used for political purplanned poses. ‘I know that many Jaywick residents will be outraged at being smeared in this way, and rightly so,’ he added.
Filmmaker Penelope Read, who made a documentary called Jaywick: A Diamond in the Rough, told the BBC she would ‘happily show Dr Stella the ‘real village’and insisted it was on the up. ‘Jaywick is starting to really go forward and it makes me really cross when it gets this bad publicity,’ she said. ‘Of course there are things that are wrong currently but they are being improved.’
Jaywick Sands contains many temporary chalets built by businessman Frank Stedman, who to create a holiday village there in 1928. However, three years ago the town registered the worst score in a government assessment of 32,844 areas for deprivation, income, poverty and crime.
Since then Essex County Council has completed a £6.5million drainage and roads programme. Dr Stella is standing in the 11th Illinois district for November’s mid-term elections. His advert also warns: ‘Help President Trump keep America on track and thriving … We can’t go back to foreclosures, unemployment and economic recession!’
Last night it had been taken down and Dr Stella’s campaign director insisted it had not been his intention to smear Jaywick’s reputation.
Raquel Mitchell said: ‘ It is great to know the town pictured has recovered from economic hardship. I’m sure Jaywick Sands is charming.’