Rochford and Southend East (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochford and Southend East is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Sir James Duddridge, a Conservative.[n 2]

Rochford and Southend East
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Rochford and Southend East in Essex
Outline map
Location of Essex within England
CountyEssex
Electorate71,131 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsPrittlewell, Rochford, Shoeburyness, Southend, Thorpe Bay
Current constituency
Created1997
Member of ParliamentSir James Duddridge (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created fromSouthend East, Rochford

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency will only be subject to relatively minor boundary changes (including the loss of St Luke's ward to Southend West), but is to be renamed Southend East and Rochford - to be first contested at the next general election.[2]

Constituency profile

Rochford and Southend East had a relatively marginal Conservative majority on its 1997 creation, as it had some of Labour's stronger wards in Southend, such as Kursaal, Milton, St. Luke's and Victoria, with the party nearly gaining its predecessor seat Southend East in a by-election in 1980, though in the elections since a much larger majority suggests a Conservative safe seat. In more recent elections, it had become more marginal however than other Essex constituencies that elected Labour MPs in the 21st century such as Harlow and Basildon.

Dependency on social housing[3] and unemployment benefit in the constituency is low[4] and in the Rochford local council only 14.5% of households do not have a car (band 5 of 5 in the 2011 census) whereas 27% of households in the Southend part lack a car (band 2 of 5).[5]

The 2017 election saw a 5% swing to Labour, cutting Duddridge's majority by 3,928 votes. In the 2019 election however, a 7.4% swing from Labour to the Conservatives gave Duddridge a 12,286 majority; his largest ever majority under the seat's current boundaries.

Local government

Currently the 31 Council seats held in Rochford and Southend East are 7 Conservative (from Rochford), 10 Independent, 7 Labour, 5 Conservative and 2 UKIP (from Southend).

History

This seat was created for the 1997 general election primarily from the abolished constituency of Southend East, with the addition of Rochford and Great Wakering, which were previously in the abolished Rochford constituency.

It has been held by the Conservatives since its formation.

Boundaries

1997–2010
  • The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Milton, St Luke's, Shoebury, Southchurch, Thorpe, and Victoria; and
  • The District of Rochford wards of Barling and Sutton, Foulness and Great Wakering East, Great Wakering Central, Great Wakering West, Rochford Eastwood, Rochford Roche, and Rochford St Andrews.[6]

2010–present
  • The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Kursaal, Milton, St Luke's, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe, Victoria, and West Shoebury; and
  • The District of Rochford wards of Barling and Sutton, Foulness and Great Wakering, and Rochford.[7]

Small reduction in electorate due to redistribution of local authority wards.

The constituency covers the town of Rochford and the town centre, main seafront and eastern part of Southend-on-Sea, such as Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[8] Party
1997 Sir Teddy Taylor Conservative
2005 Sir James Duddridge Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: Rochford and Southend East[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Duddridge 27,063 58.7 +10.0
Labour Ashley Dalton 14,777 32.0 –5.0
Liberal Democrats Keith Miller 2,822 6.1 +3.4
Independent Navin Kumar 1,107 2.4 New
Psychedelic Future Jason Pilley 367 0.8 New
Majority 12,286 26.7 +15.0
Turnout 46,136 61.0 –3.3
Conservative hold Swing +7.4
General election 2017: Rochford and Southend East[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Duddridge 23,013 48.7 +2.3
Labour Ashley Dalton 17,465 37.0 +12.3
Independent Ron Woodley 2,924 6.2 New
UKIP Neil Hookway 1,777 3.8 –16.7
Liberal Democrats Peter Gwizdala 1,265 2.7 –0.6
Green Simon Cross 804 1.7 –3.3
Majority 5,548 11.7 –10.0
Turnout 47,248 64.3 +3.7
Conservative hold Swing –5.0
General election 2015: Rochford and Southend East[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Duddridge 20,241 46.4 -0.5
Labour Ian Gilbert 10,765 24.7 +4.4
UKIP Floyd Waterworth[13] 8,948 20.5 +14.7
Green Simon Cross[14] 2,195 5.0 +3.3
Liberal Democrats Peter Gwizdala 1,459 3.3 –16.1
Majority 9,476 21.7 –4.9
Turnout 43,608 60.6 +2.1
Conservative hold Swing –2.4
General election 2010: Rochford and Southend East[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Duddridge 19,509 46.9 +1.5
Labour Kevin Bonavia[17] 8,459 20.3 -11.3
Liberal Democrats Graham Longley[18] 8,084 19.4 +4.7
UKIP James Moyies[19] 2,405 5.8 +0.9
BNP Geoff Strobridge[20] 1,856 4.5 New
Green Andrew Vaughan[21] 707 1.7 –1.8
Independent Anthony Chytry 611 1.5 New
Majority 11,050 26.6 +12.7
Turnout 41,631 58.5 +3.1
Conservative hold Swing +6.4

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Rochford and Southend East[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Duddridge 17,874 45.3 –8.3
Labour Fred Grindrod 12,384 31.4 –3.4
Liberal Democrats Graham Longley 5,967 15.1 +7.7
UKIP John Croft 1,913 4.8 New
Green Andrew Vaughan 1,328 3.4 +0.8
Majority 5,490 13.9 –4.9
Turnout 39,466 55.4 +2.7
Conservative hold Swing –2.4
General election 2001: Rochford and Southend East[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Teddy Taylor 20,058 53.6 +4.9
Labour Chris Dandridge 13,024 34.8 –4.9
Liberal Democrats Stephen Newton 2,780 7.4 –2.0
Green Adrian Hedges 990 2.6 New
Liberal Brian Lynch 600 1.6 –0.6
Majority 7,034 18.8 +8.8
Turnout 37,452 52.7 –11.0
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Rochford and Southend East[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Teddy Taylor 22,683 48.7
Labour Nigel Smith 18,458 39.7
Liberal Democrats Paula Smith 4,387 9.4
Liberal Brian Lynch 1,007 2.2
Majority 4,225 9.0
Turnout 46,535 63.7
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References
  1. "Electorate Figures – Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – Eastern | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. "Check Browser Settings". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  4. Simon Rogers, John Burn-Murdoch and Ami Sedghi. "Unemployment: the key UK data and benefit claimants for every constituency". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. "2011 Census Interactive". ONS. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
  9. "Rochford & Southend East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  10. "Rochford & Southend East parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  11. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. Archived 11 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "UK Polling Report". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  14. "Eastern Region Green Party | Green Party announces its candidates for the East of England's seaside towns". Eastern.greenparty.org.uk. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  15. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. "Election 2010 | Constituency | Rochford & Southend East". BBC News. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  17. "Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Labour Party. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  18. "Rochford and Southend East & Southend West". Liberal Democrats (UK). Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  19. "Eastern Counties Region". UKIP. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  20. "Rochford and Southend East Announces Its BNP Parliamentary Candidate". BNP. 6 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2010.
  21. "Green Party Parliamentary Candidate". South East Essex Green Party. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  22. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

51.55°N 0.81°E / 51.55; 0.81

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