Explaining Epping: the local anger that turned an Essex town into a flashpoint for anti-migrant protests

After a summer of unrest, protesters tell Innes Bowen that it was driven not by hardcore outsiders but by locals fighting for their town

- Liam Tuffs

At an afternoon tea in a church hall in Epping in October, a married couple met one of their neighbours for the first time and bonded over their shared ordeal.

The event had been organised by Epping for Everyone, a group of mainly liberal-minded people, embarrassed to live in a town suddenly famous for its opposition to undocumented migrant men.

Much of the conversation was about how and why Epping became the focal point for a nationwide summer of protests against migrant hotels.

One Epping for Everyone member said the protesters seemed to come from elsewhere: “I don’t think there’s one face I recognise from the high street.” Another said: “Follow the money,” without suggesting where the trail might lead.

It might be comforting for Epping’s liberals to assume that powerful outside forces have been at work, manipulating local discontent. But is it true? Or do the Epping protests speak, if not for everyone, then perhaps for a majority, here and across the country?

Epping’s location in the northeast corner of the London tube map is deceptive. It is in Essex, well-off but unpretentious. On the high street, there is a Gail's, but also a Greggs, and the town’s street market might occasionally include stalls selling artisan foods but more often bed linen, cheap slippers and ready-reader specs.