Southend_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)

Southend West (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

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]}

Quick Facts County, Electorate ...

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)^[1]
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

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

This section needs to be updated. (October 2021)

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

More information Election, Member ...

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