Labour’s Declining Support in England’s Coastal Towns Ahead of May 7 Local Elections

A council by-election in Cliftonville, Margate, followed the jailing of Reform UK councillor Daniel Taylor. Labour’s vote fell from 22 % in the May 2023 local elections to 10 %, finishing fourth, while the Greens won with 39 %.

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The Fabian Society coined “Sea Wall” in 2022 to describe coastal seats that traditionally backed Labour. The party won several such seats in the 2024 general election, but rising cost-of-living pressures have sparked concerns about the bloc’s durability.

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• Cliftonville vote: Labour 22 % (May 2023) -> 10 % (by-election); Greens 39 % (up from 12 %).

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• Thanet District Council: Labour holds 30 of 56 seats.

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• East Thanet: 70 neighbourhoods now in England’s most deprived 10 % (up from 51 in 2019).

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Labour MP Polly Billington said a new coastal economic strategy will tackle transport and deprivation. Green leader Zack Polanski claimed the Greens are the only party offering a real alternative to Labour’s recent “disappointments and U-turns.” Reform UK’s Nigel Farage noted his party’s historic presence in East Thanet.

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Local residents expressed disillusionment with Labour, citing the cost-of-living crisis and what they view as inadequate policy responses, prompting some former Labour voters to switch to the Greens.

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Pollsters predict a collapse in Labour’s coastal support, but post-by-election data are not yet available to confirm the trend for the May 7 contests.

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The 7 May polls will test whether the Greens and Reform UK can convert recent by-election gains into broader control of coastal councils, while Labour’s coastal strategy faces voter scrutiny.

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• “It’s very hard to find anyone now who openly says they are Labour, and when I defected, I didn’t get a single negative response from anyone in the community; in fact, I think it made more people question their own politics.” — Rob Yates, former Labour cabinet member, now Green candidate

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• “voters are increasingly seeing that Greens are the only party offering a real alternative to the disappointments and U-turns of Labour” — Zack Polanski, Green Party Leader

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• “I really don’t want Reform anywhere near this area, and I don’t like Labour. They’ve all had their chance.” — John, former Labour voter, Margate

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