Rochford was a

County Constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

from 1983 until 1997. It elected one

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system of election.

History

The seat was created for the 1983 general election from parts of the

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

and abolished South East Essex constituencies. It was abolished at the next redistribution which came into effect for the 1997 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new constituency of Rayleigh, with the town of

Rochford Rochford is a town in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford, the county town. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish, which includes the town and London Southend Airport, had a popu ...

itself being included in the new constituency of Rochford and Southend East. It was held by Michael Clark for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

throughout its existence.

Boundaries

The District of Rochford, and the Borough of Chelmsford wards of Ramsden Heath and Downham, Rettendon and South Hanningfield, Runwell, Woodham Ferrers North, and Woodham Ferrers South. The District of Rochford comprised the former Rural District of Rochford, which had been part of the

constituency, and the former Urban District of Rayleigh, which had been part of the abolished South East Essex constituency. The Borough of Chelmsford wards had previously been in the

constituency. On abolition in 1997, the bulk of the constituency formed the new constituency of Rayleigh, with

and

Great Wakering Great Wakering is a village in the Rochford District in Essex, England. It is approximately four miles east of Southend. The village is well served with several historic public houses, a primary school, a Co-operative supermarket, post office, ...

being included in the new constituency of Rochford and Southend East.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes and references

Parliamentary constituencies in Essex (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1997 {{UK-hist-constituency-stub