Southend West (UK Parliament constituency)

Southend West
Southend West
Borough constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Southend West in Essex
	Location of Essex within England
County	Essex
Electorate	66,780 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea, Westcliff-on-Sea
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Anna Firth (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Southend

Southend West is a constituency^{[n 1]} in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The seat is currently held by Anna Firth who won the 2022 by-election,^[2] following the murder of the incumbent MP, David Amess.^[3]^{[n 2]}

Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency is to be renamed Southend West and Leigh - to be first contested at the next general election.^[4]

Constituency profile

Registered jobseekers were in November 2012 close to the national average of 3.8%, at 3.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[5]

Leigh-on-Sea has a number of Liberal Democrat councillors, whilst Eastwood Park has voted for the Lib Dems on occasion, and there is some Labour strength in Westborough (their strongest ward in the constituency), Blenheim Park and St Laurence, however the remaining areas are predominantly Conservative.

History

The constituency was created for the 1950 general election under the Representation of the People Act 1948, when the Parliamentary Borough of Southend-on-Sea was split in two.

Since creation, the seat has been held every election by the Conservative Party, with majorities ranging from 5.7% during the Labour Landslide of 1997 to 43.4% in 1955. It has historically been seen by pundits as a safe Conservative seat.

Because four members of the Guinness family have held the seat (or its predecessor, Southend) it has been dubbed in political analyses in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea".^[6]

The seat was represented by David Amess for 24 years, from 1997 to 15 October 2021, when he was murdered.^[3] Amess was previously the MP for Basildon from 1983. A by-election was held to elect a replacement MP. In a similar vein to the subsequent by-election following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016, all major contender parties stated they would not field candidates in opposition to the Conservative nominee.^[7]

Boundaries and boundary changes

1950–1955

The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh, Milton, Prittlewell, St Clements, Victoria, and Westborough.^[8]

Formed primarily from western parts of the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Southend-on-Sea.

1955–1983

The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Blenheim, Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh, Prittlewell, St Clement's, Southbourne, and Westborough.^[8]

Realignment of boundary with Southend East.

1983–2010

The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Belfairs, Blenheim, Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh, Prittlewell, and Westborough.^[9]^[10]

Marginal changes following the redistribution of wards in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea.

Map of current boundaries

2010–present

The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Belfairs, Blenheim Park, Chalkwell, Eastwood Park, Leigh, Prittlewell, St Laurence, Westborough, and West Leigh.^[11]

Further marginal changes were due to a redistribution of local authority wards.

The constituency comprises a small part of the west of Southend-on-Sea, and includes Leigh-on-Sea and Westcliff-on-Sea. It is bounded to the north and east by Rochford and Southend East, to the north by Rayleigh and Wickford, to the west by Castle Point, and to the south by the very end of the Thames estuary.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the Southend West and Leigh constituency will comprise the whole of the current Southend West seat with the addition of St Luke's ward from Rochford and Southend East).^[12]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member^[13]
1950	Sir Henry Channon	Conservative
1959 by-election	Paul Channon	Conservative
1997	Sir David Amess	Conservative
2022 by-election	Anna Firth	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Southend West and Leigh
Party		Candidate
	Conservative	Anna Firth^[14]
	Green	Tilly Hogrebe^[15]
Majority
Turnout

2022 Southend West by-election^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anna Firth	12,792	86.1	+26.9
	Psychedelic Movement	Jason Pilley	512	3.4	New
	UKIP	Steve Laws	400	2.7	New
	English Democrat	Catherine Blaiklock	320	2.2	New
	Independent	Jayda Fransen	299	2.0	New
	Heritage	Ben Downton	236	1.6	New
	Freedom Alliance	Christopher Anderson	161	1.1	New
	English Constitution	Graham Moore	86	0.6	New
	No description	Olga Childs	52	0.3	New
Majority			12,280	82.7	+51.6
Turnout			15,942	24.0	-43.4
Rejected ballots			1,084
Registered electors			66,354
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Southend West^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	27,555	59.2	+4.0
	Labour	Aston Line	13,096	28.1	-5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nina Stimson	5,312	11.4	+6.9
	Independent	77 Joseph	574	1.2	New
Majority			14,459	31.1	+9.9
Turnout			46,537	67.4	-2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.9

General election 2017: Southend West^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	26,046	55.2	+5.4
	Labour	Julian Ware-Lane	16,046	34.0	+15.7
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Salek	2,110	4.5	-4.8
	UKIP	John Stansfield	1,666	3.5	-14.0
	Green	Dominic Ellis	831	1.8	-2.9
	Southend Independent Association	Tino Callaghan	305	0.6	New
	Independent	Jason Pilley	187	0.4	New
Majority			10,000	21.2	-10.3
Turnout			47,191	69.7	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.2

Jack Monroe had previously been standing^[22] for the National Health Action Party, before withdrawing their candidacy on 11 May 2017, citing death threats and concern for their health.^[23]^[24]

General election 2015: Southend West^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	22,175	49.8	+3.8
	Labour	Julian Ware-Lane	8,154	18.3	+4.9
	UKIP	Brian Otridge^[26]	7,803	17.5	+13.6
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Collins^[27]	4,129	9.3	-20.1
	Green	Jon Fuller^[28]	2,083	4.7	+3.2
	English Democrat	Jeremy Moss	165	0.4	-0.9
Majority			14,021	31.5	+14.8
Turnout			44,509	66.6	+1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.5

General election 2010: Southend West^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	20,086	46.1	-0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Welch^[30]	12,816	29.4	+5.4
	Labour	Thomas Flynn^[31]	5,850	13.4	-9.2
	UKIP	Garry Cockrill^[32]	1,714	3.9	+0.5
	BNP	Tony Gladwin	1,333	3.1	New
	Green	Barry Bolton^[33]	644	1.5	New
	Independent	Vel (Marimutu Velmurgan)	617	1.4	New
	English Democrat	Terry Phillips^[34]	546	1.3	-0.5
Majority			7,270	16.7	-5.8
Turnout			43,606	65.1	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.8

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Southend West^[35]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	18,408	46.2	−0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Wexham	9,449	23.7	−1.2
	Labour	Jan Etienne	9,072	22.8	−2.3
	UKIP	Carole Sampson	1,349	3.4	−0.3
	Independent	Marimutu Velmurgan	745	1.9	New
	English Democrat	Jeremy Moss	701	1.8	New
	Max Power Party	Dan Anslow	106	0.3	New
Majority			8,959	22.5	+1.3
Turnout			39,830	61.9	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.5

General election 2001: Southend West^[36]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	17,313	46.3	+7.5
	Labour	Paul Fisher	9,372	25.1	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Richard de Ste Croix	9,319	24.9	-8.2
	UKIP	Brian Lee	1,371	3.7	+2.3
Majority			7,941	21.2	+15.5
Turnout			37,375	58.0	-12.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Southend West^[37]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Amess	18,029	38.8	-15.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nina Stimson	15,414	33.1	+2.2
	Labour	Alan Harley	10,600	22.8	+10.5
	Referendum	Charles Webster	1,734	3.7	New
	UKIP	Brian Lee	636	1.4	New
	Natural Law	Peter Warburton	101	0.2	-0.1
Majority			2,615	5.7	-18.1
Turnout			46,515	70.0	-7.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1992: Southend West^[38]^[39]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	27,319	54.7	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Nina Stimson	15,417	30.9	-7.2
	Labour	Geoffrey Viney	6,139	12.3	+4.7
	Liberal	Alan Farmer	495	1.0	New
	Green	Chris Keene	451	0.9	New
	Natural Law	Peter Warburton	127	0.3	New
Majority			11,902	23.8	+7.5
Turnout			49,948	77.8	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Southend West^[40]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	28,003	54.4	-0.1
	Liberal	Gavin Grant	19,603	38.1	+0.2
	Labour Co-op	Angela Smith	3,899	7.6	+0.0
Majority			8,400	16.3	-0.3
Turnout			51,505	75.3	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1

General election 1983: Southend West^[41]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	26,360	54.5	-3.2
	Liberal	Gavin Grant	18,327	37.9	+13.2
	Labour	Joy Nisbet	3,675	7.6	-8.7
Majority			8,033	16.6	-16.4
Turnout			48,362	71.7	-4.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	29,449	57.68
	Liberal	D Evans	12,585	24.65
	Labour	J Nisbet	8,341	16.34
	National Front	LJ McKeon	680	1.33	New
Majority			16,864	33.03
Turnout			51,055	76.25
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	23,480	47.59
	Liberal	W Greaves	16,409	33.26
	Labour	AN Wright	9,451	19.15
Majority			7,071	14.33
Turnout			49,340	73.16
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	25,040	46.68
	Liberal	W Greaves	19,885	37.07
	Labour	AN Wright	14,160	23.85
Majority			12,913	9.61
Turnout			59,085	77.23
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1970: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	29,304	60.05
	Labour	M Burstin	12,419	25.45
	Liberal	JH Barnett	7,077	14.50
Majority			16,885	34.60
Turnout			48,800	70.70
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	25,713	50.89
	Labour	M Burstin	13,856	27.42
	Liberal	Gurth Hoyer-Millar	10,958	21.69
Majority			11,857	23.47
Turnout			50,527	78.35
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1964: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	25,555	50.58
	Liberal	Gurth Hoyer-Millar	14,548	28.79
	Labour	Rex Winsbury	10,423	20.63
Majority			11,007	21.79
Turnout			50,526	78.78
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	27,612	58.2	-6.0
	Liberal	Heather Harvey	10,577	22.3	+7.3
	Labour	Anthony Pearson-Clarke	9,219	19.4	-1.4
Majority			17,035	35.9	-7.7
Turnout			47,408	77.7	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

1959 Southend West by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Channon	14,493	55.6	-8.6
	Liberal	Heather Harvey	6,314	24.2	+9.2
	Labour	Anthony Pearson-Clarke	5,280	20.2	-0.6
Majority			5,166	31.4	-12.0
Turnout			26,087
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Southend West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Channon	27,326	64.2	-4.9
	Labour	Victor G Marchesi	8,866	20.8	-10.1
	Liberal	Heather Harvey	6,375	15.0	New
Majority			18,460	43.4	+5.2
Turnout			42,567	74.1	-4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Southend West^[42]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Henry Channon	39,287	69.1	+11.7
	Labour	Henry N Lyall	17,352	30.9	+5.0
Majority			21,755	38.2	+6.7
Turnout			56,639	79.0	-4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1950: Southend West^[43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Henry Channon	34,100	57.4
	Labour Co-op	Eric Hutchison	15,345	25.9
	Liberal	John Scott	9,907	16.7
Majority			18,746	31.5
Turnout			59,352	83.1
	Conservative win (new seat)

Notes

References

External links

51°33′N 0°40′E / 51.55°N 0.66°E / 51.55; 0.66

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