What does Clacton get for its loyalty to stroppy Nige? Next to nothing | John Crace

Why bother to improve people’s lives – or even show up – when it’s this easy? In many ways, though, the stunt hasn’t paid off

What can Clacton possibly have done to deserve this? Is this some cosmic karma for a past existence in which the town executed hundreds of innocent women and children? Surely, even then, enough is enough. For the past few years Clacton seems to have been the centre of some abusive psychological experiment. The sort the Americans used to run in the 1950s and 60s, that have long since been banned. One run by Nigel Farage and designed merely to fuel his narcissistic dreams, with the voters mere cannon fodder.

Clacton’s relationship with Nige is and always has been entirely one-sided. The town’s job is merely to vote for him, whenever he commands. Even for byelections that are entirely unnecessary and will possibly have to be re-run before the end of the year. On Thursday, with a turnout of just 44%, little more than 60% of the voters duly obliged, even though none of the main parties were standing and Nige’s main opponent was a man with a bin on his head. Maybe parts of Clacton are waking up – and fed up with Farage taking the piss out of them.