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The county of Essex has long-established links with the United States of America.
Christopher Martin, governor of the Mayflower which sailed west with the ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ in 1620 haled from Great Burstead, George Washington’s great-great grandfather was the vicar of All Saints Church at Purleigh and William Penn, who founded the state of Pennsylvania spent much of his youth on his family’s country estate in Wanstead.
During WWII and well into the 1990s, the county was home to over a dozen USAAF air bases and thousands of US service personnel.
While touring the North side of the Thames estuary in 1971, President Richard Nixon gave a famous speech at Basildon Town Hall in which he declared that since Essex was:
“To all intents and purposes, the easternmost bulwark in our fight against communism, I don’t see why we shouldn’t just plant a flag and make it the 51st State!”
And now, it would seem, that the Trump administration is taking Nixon’s idea seriously. For White House insiders, quoted in Washington based political journal, The Quatsch, have revealed that the president’s team are in advanced talks with UK diplomats and Reform UK go-betweens regarding the prospect of taking out a 300-year lease on the Essex seaboard in return for a favourable trade deal with Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
Chris Grey disentangles the myriad alarming claims being made about ‘special economic zones’ and freeports in order to focus on the real risks
Chris Grey
“The Essex coastline between Harwich and Jaywick sits in a prime geopolitical and strategic hotspot known as the ‘candyfloss rim’,” one aide told The Quatsch, “and since the time of Henry VIII, it’s been said that ‘they who control Walton-on-the-Naze, control the North Sea’. So, it makes strategic as well as economic sense for America to take out a lease on the region.”
The area is rich in London clay deposits – which contain pyrites, smectite and selenite – a vital ingredient used in the manufacture of EV vehicles, suggesting that Elon Musk, too might have one eye on the county.
Byline Times can now reveal that Nigel Farage’s eight (at time of writing) visits to the USA since he was elected MP for Clacton in August 2024 had an actual purpose and that he has been at the forefront of the proposed deal.
“Nigel has repeatedly said that he is representing Clacton on the world stage!” A Reform Party source tells us, “And in the next few weeks, people are going to see that he’s as good as his word. He and Trump’s team have been working on this for the last three months, and Starmer is willing to listen – if it gets him that much-needed trade agreement.”
Farage allegedly has high hopes of becoming the Senator for the State of North Essex as it enters an exciting new phase in its history.
The proposals include the development of a gigantic freeport on the current site of Clacton’s famous pier, built in 1871, which will be dismantled and sold for scrap.
“Donald suffers from chronic gephyrophobia – an irrational fear of old bridges, tunnels and seaside promenades,” the Reform source tells us, “So everyone has agreed that the pier has to go as a first step before we can even show him photos.”
Under the terms of the US lease, the Tendring peninsula will be transformed into ‘the Singapore of East Anglia’ and the hope is that nearby Frinton, with its famously lively nightlife and nearby mini golf course, will become the Mar-a-Lago of Eastern England.
Locals have mixed views on the development, and restaurant manager Ivor Maditup, at La Fir Polo on Marine Parade, was wary:
“I’ve spent years transforming this place into a decent brasserie, and if we’re going to suddenly get an influx of yanks demanding chlorinated chicken, fries and watery beer, then I’m off to Suffolk.”
But others welcomed the proposals:
Local hairdresser Yora Kiddin, 34, told us, “I’ve always wanted to go to the USA, and I suppose this will save me on the airfare.”
Plans to construct an international airport on the Sunnyfield Holiday Park on the B414 west of Thorpe-Le-Soken divided opinion, however.
“I’m all in favour of it in principle because climate change is a scam!” self-confessed GB News superfan Gavin Drimes, 32, told us when approached on Clacton beach, “but I live under the proposed flight path, so I think they should build it somewhere else.”
Otto English has advance copies of the plans for the coming attractions – A Nostalgia Zone, Gallery of Brexit Heroes and much more…
Otto English
Others seemed resigned, and local carpenter Sam Crappigan, 43, summed up the mood of many, telling us:
“I mean, what can I say? All we ever get round here is promises, promises, promises. It’ll be the same with Trump and the freeport. I just want someone to do something meaningful for Clacton. I mean it’s a joke, isn’t it? Really. But then – everything is nowadays, isn’t it? The world’s a joke. It’s just, it’s not very funny anymore. In fact, it’s anything but.”
Additional reporting by Otto English
