Southend-on-Sea was a
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
centred on the then-town of
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
in Essex. It returned one Member of Parliament to 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 ...
.
History
The constituency was created under the
Representation of the People Act 1918 by splitting the
County Borough of Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea was a local government district from 1866 to 1974 around the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. Its origin was a local board formed for the parish of St John the Baptist, which had been split off from Prittlewell f ...
from the existing constituency of
South East Essex. The sitting MP for that constituency, Rupert Guinness, was elected to the new constituency. It was abolished for the
1950 general election, when the expanded County Borough (which had incorporated the
Urban District of Shoeburyness) was divided into the new constituencies of
Southend East and
Southend West.
Boundaries
1918–1945: The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea.
1945–1950: Part of the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea.
(No changes to constituency boundaries).
Members of Parliament
Guinness family
For most of the 20th century, this constituency and one of its successors was held by four members of the
Guinness family
The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...
. When Rupert Guinness was elevated to the Peerage upon the death of his father, he was succeeded by his wife, Gwendolen. When she retired in 1935 she was succeeded by her eldest daughter's husband, Henry "Chips" Channon. Channon continued to serve as MP for one of the successor constituencies, Southend West, until his death in 1958. That seat was then represented by his son,
Paul Channon
Henry Paul Guinness Channon, Baron Kelvedon, (9 October 1935 – 27 January 2007) was Conservative MP for Southend West for 38 years, from 1959 until 1997. He served in various ministerial offices, and was a Cabinet minister for 3½ years, as ...
, until 1997. Because of this connection, the seat became known in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea".
Elections
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
General Election 1939–40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
*Conservative:
Henry Channon
Sir Henry Channon (7 March 1897 – 7 October 1958), often known as Chips Channon, was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that Amer ...
*Liberal: Philip Whitehead
*Labour: GR Sandison
[Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939]
Elections in the 1940s
References
{{Reflist
Parliamentary constituencies in Essex (historic)
Politics of Southend-on-Sea
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950