Clacton is almost completely coastal, comprising seaside resorts along the Tendring peninsula, including Clacton-on-Sea, Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze.

Similar to other coastal seats, such as Christchurch in Dorset, Clacton's electorate comprises among the oldest in the country with a high proportion of retirees and not many non-white residents.

Clacton is also, in general, highly deprived, in terms of employment, income and education, when measured comparatively with the rest of the UK, with 64% of the constituency being impoverished, according to the site.

[15] Carswell retained the seat for UKIP at the 2015 general election, seeing his majority cut by roughly three-quarters, with an 11% swing to the Conservatives.

Carswell then became UKIP's sole MP in the House of Commons, as Mark Reckless, a fellow Conservative defector, lost his seat.

[18] After Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election on 19 April 2017, Carswell announced that he would not stand for re-election and endorsed the Conservative Party candidate Giles Watling.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, it was announced that Nigel Farage, who had taken over as leader of Reform UK mid-campaign, would contest the Clacton constituency.