A SPECIAL episode of the BBC’s flagship politics show Question Time has been filmed in Clacton to mark the seventh anniversary of the vote to leave the European Union.

The programme, which was filmed at Clacton Town Hall on Thursday, included an audience made up entirely of Brexit voters.

Clacton was at the forefront of the campaign to leave the EU after it returned the UKIP's first elected MP, Douglas Carswell, at a high-profile by-election in 2014 following his defection from the Conservatives.

More than 73 per cent of people in Clacton then voted to leave the EU in the subsequent referendum – the second highest in the country.

Residents in the seaside town voted for change following years of perceived neglect and increasing deprivation along with concerns over immigration and sovereignty.

But a new poll revealed just one in five people who voted for Brexit think it's going well due to issues over inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette: Panel - Alastair CampbellPanel - Alastair Campbell (Image: BBC)

Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who appeared on the programme, criticised the Government for failing to put up a minister to represent it in front of the audience.

He told the audience they had been lied to about the benefits of leaving the EU.

He said: “I understand why a lot of you guys voted for Brexit because you felt that [Boris] Johnson and [Nigel] Farage were coming along offering you something that was going to make your lives better.

“I was in a school today - Clacton Coastal Academy – with really bright kids and really nice teachers – a fantastic school in a very tough area.

“And I asked the kids what they thought of Brexit – and all but two said they would vote to rejoin the European Union if they had the chance.

“I don’t blame you for voting [for Brexit], I blame them for lying to you.

“They lied and they have not been properly held to account.

“Johnson has gone for lying about Covid. He’s still not been properly held accountable for Brexit.

“And we are all paying a higher price in our cost of living and everything else because of the lies that were told.”

Clacton and Frinton Gazette: An audience member defended her decision to vote for BrexitAn audience member defended her decision to vote for Brexit (Image: BBC)

But one audience member defended her decision to vote for Brexit.

“It just makes my blood boil when I keep hearing that same thing that we were lied to,” she said.

“That’s just not the case. I wanted out to be sovereign, to not be encumbered by the EU.

“Brexit is a missed opportunity.”