Is Essex Man still a Thatcherite?

My book The Joy of Essex gets a mention in this BBC article on whether Essex Man is changing his Thatcherite image. Certainly the image of Essex Man has become a bit cuddlier and more emotionally aware than in the 1990 Sunday Telegraph profile where he was described as "Maggie's mauler."

The BBC's Jodie Smith talks to Alex Otaka, a graduate in Billericay who works in insurance and is leaning towards Labour after voting Lib-Dem last time. Of Polish descent, he's more concerned about the closure of Billericay police station than immigration. Paul Whiteley, a professor of government at the University of Essex, also has some interesting points to make about the county's political image.

And all this on the same day that it emerges another stereotypical Essex Man, Joey Essex, is veering towards the Lib-Dems. He's just interviewed Nick Clegg, and after learning that it's not 'Nick Leg' or the 'Liberal Democats', he describes him as "quite an honest person" and manages to get a confession from Clegg that he's not going to win the election. Essex also advocates voting, unlike another Essex icon, Russell Brand. Question Time surely beckons for Joey…