Rochford and Southend East (UK Parliament constituency)


Rochford and Southend East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by James Duddridge, a Conservative.

History

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

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 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.
Dependency on social housing and unemployment benefit in the constituency is low and in the Rochford local council only 14.5% of households do not have a car whereas 27% of households in the Southend part lack a car.
The 2017 election saw a 5% swing to Labour, cutting Duddridge's majority by 3,928 votes. This swing makes Rochford and Southend East currently the second-most marginal seat in Essex by raw votes, second only to the 345 vote margin in Thurrock.
Local government
Currently the 31 Council seats held in Rochford and Southend East are 7 Conservative, 10 Independent, 7 Labour, 5 Conservative and 2 UKIP.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s