Sea wall (British politics)
British political term / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sea wall is a term used by psephologists to refer to battleground constituencies along the UK coastline.[1] The sea wall is predominantly Conservative voting but is home to many marginal seats that are vulnerable to Labour according to opinion polls.[2][3] Along with Red wall and Blue wall, the Sea wall overlaps both,[4] and has been used in coverage for the 2024 general election. There are thought to be 108 such constituencies.[5] In the 2019 general election Labour won just 24 of these seats.[6]
Coastal constituencies in England and Wales are noted for deprivation.[7][8] They are personified by tourism based economies, the cost of living crisis and poor connectivity.[9] Coastal communities are known to have lower wages compared to people living and working inland.[10] The availability of affordable housing has also been an issue.[11]
The thinktank Onward has called coastal areas “the forgotten battleground that could decide the next election”.[12]