Giles Watling is the Conservative MP for Clacton, having first been elected to Parliament in 2017, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 24,702.
The Clacton constituency is found on the coast in the north eastern corner of Essex along the Tendring peninsular. It incorporates the coastal towns of Clacton, Frinton on the Sea, and the Walton on the Naze. The electorate in Clacton is one of the whitest and oldest in the UK. The seat also includes the community of Jaywick, which has regularly featured as one of the most deprived areas in England with unemployment of over 50%.
Although this seat is traditionally Conservative leaning, the area was held by Labour between 1997 and 2010. The seat was also won by Douglas Carswell (himself the former Tory MP for the area) for UKIP in the 2015 General Election.
Watling was first selected to contest the seat for the Conservatives in an open primary.
Born in 1953, Giles was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow. A former actor, he has starred in a whole range of well known TV programmes such as Grange Hill, Allo Allo, Bread, Upstairs Downstairs,
For many years, he organised the Summer Theatre in Frinton on Sea and served as a local councillor on Tendring District Council between 2007 and 2019.
He supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.
In 2018, Watling used a speech in the Commons to champion the role of NATO, as well as calling for defence spending to increase from 2% to 3%.
In 2021, Watling has called for the government reduce beer and alcohol duty to help the pub trade, with lower differentiation for alcohol sold on pub premises.
Giles Watling is the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Theatre; and Writers. He is the Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on East of England; and Treasurer of the All Party Group for Animal Welfare.
He is married with two daughters.
Email: giles.watling.mp@parliament.uk
Website – www.gileswatling.co.uk
Twitter – @GilesWatling
