Southend West is a
constituency 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. T ...
of the
UK Parliament
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 ...
. The seat is currently held by
Anna Firth who won the
2022 by-election, following
the murder of the
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
MP,
David Amess
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
.
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
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 ...
have held the seat (or its predecessor,
Southend
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 ...
) it has been dubbed in political analyses in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea".
The seat was represented by
David Amess
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
for 24 years, from 1997 to 15 October 2021, when
he was stabbed and killed.
[ Amess was previously the MP for Basildon from 1983. A ]by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
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.
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.Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509.
Geography
Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...
and Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 ...
. 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
Castle Point is a local government district with borough status in south Essex, east of central London. The borough comprises the towns and villages of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley. The borough council is situated ...
, and to the South by the very end of the Thames estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
.
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
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
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.
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
Jack Monroe had previously been standing for the National Health Action Party, before withdrawing their candidacy on 11 May 2017, citing death threats and concern for their health.
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
See also
* List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex
Notes
References
External links
Southend West Liberal Democrat Prospective MP
Southend West UKIP Prospective MP
Southend Liberal Democrats
Southend West Conservatives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southend West (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Parliamentary constituencies in Essex
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950
Politics of Southend-on-Sea