The Conservative Government must level up England’s struggling coastal communities or risk losing 113 seaside seats to Labour, a conservative think tank has warned.
A new report from Onward shows that these coastal communities are poorer, sicker, more crime-ridden and poorly housed than the rest of the country.
Average incomes before housing costs are £2,800 less on the coast, with the largest income gap with inland areas rising to £4,600 in the South East and £6,200 in the East Midlands, the think tank found.
Early, preventable deaths are 15% more likely on the coast, coastal crime rates are 12% higher than the national average, and seaside areas 10% less productive than inland areas.
Jenevieve Treadwell, senior researcher at Onward, said: ‘Where the coast goes, England follows. For nearly four decades, seaside towns and cities have backed the eventual election winners. They are the forgotten battleground that could decide the next election, and both political parties need to make a serious offering to the coast to win coastal voters’ trust.
‘Onward’s research exposes the growing gap between declining coastal communities and the rest of England. If you live on the coast, you're more likely to be poorer, sicker, badly housed and a victim of crime. Unless the Government fully embraces coastal areas in its levelling up agenda, they risk a tidal wave against them at the next election.’
