''Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK'','' Crap Towns II: The Nation Decides'', and ''Crap Towns Returns: Back by Unpopular Demand'', are a series of books edited by Sam Jordison and

Dan Kieran Dan Kieran (born 10 June 1975) is a British travel writer, humorist, literary editor and entrepreneur. He is best known for his travel books and for his role as deputy editor of '' The Idler'' between 2000 and 2010. He is also a CEO and co-found ...

, in association with UK quarterly '' The Idler''; in which towns in the United Kingdom were nominated by visitors to ''The Idler'' website for their " crapness", with the results being published in ''The Idler'' and in the books. A sister publication, ''Crap Jobs'', was created by similar means, and ''Crap Holidays'' was published in October 2006. In June 2012, the editors announced that they were gathering nominations for a third edition of Crap Towns (published 2013).

Controversy

Publication of ''Crap Towns'' brought widespread criticism from residents, politicians and other notable figures from the towns listed. Many notable figures were quick to defend their respective towns. These included a number of

MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...

such as

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

, MP for Hythe in Kent, which appeared at number four in the 2003 edition. Howard claimed that Hythe was "the jewel of Kent." Some thought the selection process and/or subsequent portrayals to be inherently biased, "random", subjective, inconsistent and/or unscientific. The editors of the book wrote to "local worthies" in each of the nominated towns to gain their responses and views. Local newspapers were quick to defend their towns, such as the ''Stockport Express'' (2006), Conversely, some former residents have tended to agree with the assessments, such as Sarfraz Manzoor, writing about Luton in '' The Guardian'' (2006). However, Manzoor also concluded that there was "of course, an unmistakable air of snobbery around the people behind such a book; the stench of rich kids having fun at the expense of those less able to afford to be professionally idle" and added that "rather than sneering at towns such as Luton, we should be applauding the contribution that crap towns have made to all our lives."

Survey results

Readers voted for the top 50 crap towns in the UK. The top ten by reader votes in descending order of "crapness" (with 1 being the worst) were:

References

External links

Idler Website – 'Crap' section
*BBC News �
"UK's 'worst 50' towns revealed"
— with list of the ten worst *BBC News �
"Luton voted Britain's worst town"
— with list of the ten worst in ''Crap Towns II''
''Crap Towns Returns''
– new nominations in 2012.
Official site

BBC News – "UK's 'worst 50' towns revealed" – with list of the ten worst
{{italic title 2003 non-fiction books Travel books 2004 non-fiction books 2013 non-fiction books Books about the United Kingdom