WITH a council debt of £1.3 billion and services cut to the bone, most people in struggling Tilbury have given up on voting.
The Essex port town, which has no pubs or public toilets but has many clapboard shops, has one of the lowest turnouts in the country.
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Tilbury in Essex has one of the worst turnouts in the country Credit: Peter Jordan
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The area has no pubs after the crime-ridden places closed Credit: Peter Jordan
Despite being home to London’s largest pier, a cruise ship terminal and a huge Amazon distribution centre, the city’s unemployment rate is almost double the national average.
New research has shown that the poorest areas are less likely to put a cross on the ballot than those in the richest.
This has long been the case in Tilbury.
In the Riverside district, where the ship Empire Windrush arrived in 1948 with immigrants from the Caribbean, only 20 percent of people voted in the previous local elections.
Last week, central Tilbury St Chads, which is one of the poorest areas in the country, went to the polls, but the poorest locals felt abandoned by politicians.
The turnout was just 18.7 per cent, by far the lowest in a Thurrock council poll this month.
In desperation, unemployed local Martin Howlett, 57, carrying a copy of The Sun, told how he had sold his car, motorbike and station wagon because he had not received any Universal Credit payments since December.
Martin, who most recently worked as a technician for the London Ambulance Service, said: “I didn’t vote. That doesn’t change anything. I’ve worked and paid my whole life, but now I’m struggling to pay my mortgage.
“I haven’t had a universal loan payment since December, I sold my car, station wagon and motorbike.
“My dad is dying of cancer, but I have to walk to the hospital because I can’t afford the bus ticket.”
I live on ROUNDABOUT with my wife in a makeshift shantytown – we get set on fire and beaten by bandits, but we have no choice
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Martin Howlett told The Sun he had to sell everything to survive Credit: Peter Jordan
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Closed Tilbury Police Station Credit: Peter Jordan
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Unemployment is high in the areaCredit: Peter Jordan
We met Martin as he was leaving the One Community Center volunteer center in Tilbury, which aims to help people find work and deal with issues such as debt.
They used to have a much larger practice, but they demolished it three years ago in order to build a modern health facility.
But now the site is a pile of rubble in the middle of the city and funding has dried up.
Maria Cabral, 45, who volunteers at the community center, also did not vote.
She says: “We are among the poorest areas, it’s very sad to see that. Although we have a port and the Amazon, unemployment is high.
“People come here to collect food stamps, learn about training opportunities, apprenticeships, possible jobs, because there’s no job center here.”
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Shop owner Miah Abul says he is often robbed Credit: Peter Jordan
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People feel disenfranchised and abandoned by their representatives Credit: Peter Jordan
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The horse is tied to the street on the outskirts Credit: Peter Jordan
One Tilbury-born local has given up hope.
Sally, 44, who did not want to give her surname, said: “Tilbury is over. I wouldn’t walk down the street at night.
“I will not let my five-year-old son go out here alone when he gets old.
“They closed the youth clubs and it’s the only pub in West Tilbury. There were too many problems in the pubs in the centre.”
Teenagers running riot
The historic World’s End pub in West Tilbury, dating back to the 17th century, is situated by the river and is over a mile’s drive through quiet country lanes from the main town.
Hollywood star Tom Hardy came to drink while filming the TV series Taboo, and nearby buildings have been used for other films such as Paddington and Batman Begins.
Tilbury crime in statistics
Tilbury was ranked as the most dangerous small town in Essex, and in the top 10 most dangerous overall out of 315 towns, villages and cities in Essex.
In 2023, the overall crime rate was 166 crimes per 1,000 people, compared to Essex’s overall daytime rate of 84 per 1,000.
It is ranked the 33rd most dangerous small town in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the 234th most dangerous place among all towns, cities and villages.
Last year, the most common criminal offenses were violence and sexual offenses, 818 of them.
Tilbury’s crime rate is 127 crimes per 1,000 people, far higher than the UK average of 75.8.
Locals said that teenagers did whatever they wanted at night, while the police were unwilling to deal with anti-social behavior.
Everything is really terrible in Tilbury. Nothing is open
Niyazi Trzijaj
One shop owner, Miah Abul, 60, who owns the All Seasons shop in the centre, reveals: “They steal things from the shop and the police do nothing.”
The police station in Tilbury was put up for sale three years ago and is now the nearest in neighboring Grays.
There was no sign of the officers on patrol when the Sun visited.
But Cicik, 32, who works at the popular Docks cafe in the centre, said that in the four months he had the job, “a homeless man was beaten up outside the train station and another man got into a fight”.
But he adds: “The people are mostly very kind, the people who come here are workers, mostly on the docks.”
Essex Police said it was taking action to crack down on problems such as anti-social behavior and vehicle crime.
Chief Inspector Tony Atkin, Thurrock District Commander, said: “Focusing on the last three months alone, overall crime in Tilbury has fallen by 8.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“We see the numbers are going in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean we don’t recognize there is more we can do in Tilbury to build public confidence.”
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There are several facilities keeping people off the streets in TilburyCredit: Peter Jordan
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Seafood stall in town Credit: Peter Jordan
Michael McCombe, a 60-year-old plasterer, who was enjoying a fry-up at the cafe, is not worried about crime, saying: “It’s a good community, I think it’s pretty safe.”
But Michael, who voted, was scathing of Thurrock council, saying: “They’ve spent everything on solar farms and now they don’t even cut the grass in the field where the children play.”
Many people have complained that their council tax is going up, but they are getting less in return.
The council now charges residents to take their garden waste away and the main road was seriously potholed.
I didn’t vote. There were no leaflets, no agitation, the politicians seemed to have forgotten us
Raymond Duck
The main problem seems to be that apart from the community-run leisure centre, which has squash, snooker, bingo and bocce, and a non-league football team, there are few facilities.
There is no cinema or swimming pool and only a few restaurants where you can dine inside.
Niyazi Trzijaj, 45, says: “Everything is really terrible in Tilbury. Nothing is open.”
‘The locals are disappointed, but still proud’
By Yewande Kannike, CEO of One Community Development Trust in Tilbury
It’s no secret that voter turnout in Tilbury is low and many people here feel disenchanted with mainstream politics.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t care about our area or our community. Trust me, they care.
At One Community, we believe in raising people’s expectations and aspirations. When I got to Tilbury it felt like everything was closing – the leisure centre, the job center – even the local pub.
People rebelled, and I was there with them. That’s how one community was born – to ensure that there is an organization here for the local population regardless of the cuts of political changes.
One of the key things we are doing is starting a volunteering and employment program. With this project, we aim to give those people who are furthest from employment – or the voting booth – the skills and self-belief to see the future and start working towards it.
Every year we support hundreds of people to become active citizens, encouraging them to join community forums, raise their voices on issues that matter to them and volunteer for causes they care about. Many of these people have to overcome enormous barriers – from language or educational barriers to criminal backgrounds.
Tilbury is a town of great historical significance – it was the site where Queen Elizabeth I assembled troops before the Armada and where HMT Windrush docked in 1948.
We are proud of our history and together we will build a future that we will also be proud of.
‘Forgotten by politicians’
A third of Thurrock’s boroughs went to the polls last Thursday and all got the chance to vote for a Police and Crime Commissioner.
All the people we spoke to said that they had not received any leaflets and that no one campaigning for their vote had knocked on their door.
Raymond Duck, 89, who has lived in Tilbury all his life and worked on the docks, said: “I didn’t vote. There were no leaflets, no agitation, the politicians seemed to have forgotten about us.”
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Raymond feels abandoned by those in power. Credit: Peter Jordan
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Hair Dodhia told The Sun that he did not feel that anything would change at Tilbury. Credit: Peter Jordan
Hari Dodhia, 69, a shop worker who has lived in Tilbury for 20 years, agrees: “I didn’t vote. Otherwise, I only vote in general elections. Nothing will change for me.”
Locality, which supports community organisations, found that the areas with the lowest voter engagement in the 2023 local elections were among the poorest.
Their CEO, Tony Armstrong, says: “Right now some people don’t see any value in voting. These people have a lot going on in their lives and many just don’t think voting will make a difference.
Yewande Kannike, chief executive of One Community Development Trust, hopes more people will vote when the general election comes around.
She concludes: “Through groups and events and through community forums, we encourage local people to become active citizens so they can have their say.
“We’re trying to build people’s confidence to participate and encourage them to vote.”
A Thurrock Council spokesman said: “We know Tilbury needs investment and residents will start to see improvements as we work with the community to improve the town and provide new community facilities, using the £22.8m allocated to the town through the Towns Fund.
“The Tilbury Towns Trust Board, which is made up of local business people and community leaders, has decided that the funding will be used to boost learning and employment opportunities and to improve Tilbury’s transport links. Their plans include creating a new youth facility in Tilbury.
“Thurrock Council works closely with a large number of community groups in Tilbury, including Tilbury Community Forum, Tilbury Riverside Project, local faith groups and One Community, which received funding from the council.
“We will continue to work with the local community, the Town Trust Board and community groups to help deliver much-needed improvements in Tilbury.”
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