South East Essex (UK Parliament constituency)

South East Essex was a parliamentary constituency in Essex in the East of England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

South East Essex
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
South East Essex, showing boundaries used from 1955-1974
1955–1983
Seats	one
Created from	Billericay and Southend East
Replaced by	Castle Point and Rochford
1885–1950
Seats	one
Created from	East Essex, South Essex
Replaced by	Billericay and Southend East

History

South East Essex (formally the South Eastern division of Essex in its first incarnation) was one of eight single-member divisions of Essex (later classified as county constituencies) created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, replacing the three two member divisions of East, South and West Essex.

The seat was reduced considerably in size under the Representation of the People Act 1918 and again in the interim redistribution carried out for the 1945 general election, before being abolished for the 1950 general election.

The constituency was re-established for the 1955 general election, and abolished again for the 1983 general election.

Boundaries and boundary changes

South East Essex, showing boundaries used from 1918 to 1945

South East Essex, showing boundaries used from 1945 to 1950

1885–1918

• The Sessional Divisions of Dengie, Orsett, and Rochford; and
• The civil parishes of Rainham and Wennington.^[1]

Formed primarily from the abolished South Division of Essex, together with the southern part of the abolished East Division (Dengie peninsular). See below for areas covered.

1918–1945

• The Urban Districts of Grays Thurrock, Shoeburyness, and Tilbury;
• The Rural Districts of Orsett and Rochford; and
• Part of the Rural District of Billericay.^[2]

Gained southernmost parts of Chelmsford Division of Essex, including Billericay. The area between River Crouch and River Blackwater (Dengie peninsular), including Burnham-on-Crouch, was transferred to Maldon and the westernmost area, including Rainham, to Romford. Parts comprising Southend-on-Sea County Borough created as a separate Parliamentary Borough.

1945–1950

• The Urban Districts of Benfleet, Billericay, Canvey Island, and Rayleigh;

• The Rural District of Rochford; and

• Part of the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea.^[2]

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 set up Boundaries Commissions to carry out periodic reviews of the distribution of parliamentary constituencies. It also authorised an initial review to subdivide abnormally large constituencies in time for the 1945 election.^[3] This was implemented by the Redistribution of Seats Order 1945 under which South East Essex was divided into two constituencies. As a consequence, the Urban District of Thurrock (created largely from amalgamating the Urban Districts of Grays Thurrock and Tilbury and the Rural District of Orsett) was formed as the new Thurrock Division of Essex.  Other marginal changes resulting from changes to local authority boundaries.

Following the First Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the seat was abolished. The bulk of the Division, comprising the Urban Districts of Benfleet, Billericay, Canvey Island and Rayleigh, formed the new County Constituency of Billericay. The Rural District of Rochford, and the parts of the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea (Shoeburyness), included in the new constituency of Southend East.

1955–1974

• The Urban Districts of Benfleet, Canvey Island, and Rayleigh; and
• The Rural District of Rochford.^[2]

Re-established as a County Constituency. Benfleet, Canvey Island and Rayleigh were transferred back from Billericay, and Rochford from Southend East.

1974–1983

• The Urban Districts of Benfleet, Canvey Island, and Rayleigh.

The Rural District of Rochford was now transferred to Maldon.

On abolition for the second time, Benfleet and Canvey Island (which now comprised the District of Castle Point) formed the new constituency of Castle Point. Rayleigh had been incorporated into the District of Rochford and was included in the new constituency of Rochford.

Areas covered

Area	1885	1918	1945	1950	1955	1974	1983
Dengie peninsular, Burnham-on-Crouch	South East Essex	Maldon (part)					South Colchester and Maldon (part)
Southend-on-Sea - West		Southend-on-Sea		Southend West
- East				Southend East	Southend East
Shoeburyness		South East Essex	South East Essex
Rochford					South East Essex	Maldon (part)	Rochford
Rayleigh				Billericay		South East Essex
South Benfleet, Canvey Island							Castle Point
Billericay, Wickford	Chelmsford (part)				Billericay (part)	Basildon	Billericay
Basildon							Basildon
Tilbury, Grays, Orsett	South East Essex		Thurrock
Rainham		Romford (part)	Hornchurch (part)

Members of Parliament

MPs 1885–1950

Election		Member	Party
1885		constituency created (South Essex divided)
	1885	William Makins	Conservative
	1886	Carne Rasch	Conservative
	1900	Edward Tufnell	Conservative
	1906	Rowland Whitehead	Liberal
	Jan. 1910	John Kirkwood	Conservative
	1912 by-election	Rupert Guinness	Unionist
	1918	Frank Hilder	Unionist
	1923	Philip Hoffman	Labour
	1924	Herbert Looker	Unionist
	1929	Jack Oldfield	Labour
	1931	Victor Raikes	Conservative
	1945	Ray Gunter	Labour
1950		constituency abolished

MPs 1955–1983

Election		Member	Party
1955		constituency re-established
	1955	Bernard Braine	Conservative
1983		constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

William Wills

General election 1885: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Makins	3,707	51.4
	Liberal	William Wills	3,500	48.6
Majority			207	2.8
Turnout			7,207	76.9
Registered electors			9,367
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1886: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carne Rasch	3,758	56.3	+4.9
	Liberal	William Wills	2,916	43.7	−4.9
Majority			842	12.6	+9.8
Turnout			6,674	71.3	−5.6
Registered electors			9,367
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.9

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carne Rasch	4,901	52.9	−3.4
	Liberal	Edmund Wright Brooks	4,359	47.1	+3.4
Majority			542	5.8	−6.8
Turnout			9,260	77.4	+6.1
Registered electors			11,960
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.4

General election 1895: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carne Rasch	5,460	60.8	+7.9
	Liberal	David Milne-Watson[5]	3,520	39.2	−7.9
Majority			1,940	21.6	+15.8
Turnout			8,980	65.8	−11.6
Registered electors			13,640
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.9

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Tufnell	5,815	56.6	−4.2
	Liberal	Rowland Whitehead	4,461	43.4	+4.2
Majority			1,354	13.2	−8.4
Turnout			10,276	67.7	+1.9
Registered electors			15,169
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.2

General election 1906: South East Essex^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rowland Whitehead	9,230	56.3	+12.9
	Conservative	John Pretyman Newman	7,170	43.7	−12.9
Majority			2,060	12.6	N/A
Turnout			16,400	79.6	+11.9
Registered electors			20,591
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.9

Elections in the 1910s

Kirkwood

General election January 1910: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood	11,199	54.7	+11.0
	Liberal	Rowland Whitehead	9,288	45.3	−11.0
Majority			1,911	9.4	N/A
Turnout			20,487	83.1	+3.5
Registered electors			24,645
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+11.0

General election December 1910: South East Essex ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood	10,108	53.2	−1.5
	Liberal	John Henry Burrows	8,891	46.8	+1.5
Majority			1,217	6.4	−3.0
Turnout			18,999	77.1	−6.0
Registered electors			24,645
	Conservative hold		Swing	−1.5

1912 South East Essex by-election^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Rupert Guinness	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Unionist: Rupert Guinness
• Liberal:

General election 1918: South East Essex ^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Frank Hilder	11,703	63.6	+10.4
	Labour	Joe Cotter	5,343	29.0	New
	Liberal	Sydney Robinson	1,372	7.4	−39.4
Majority			6,360	34.6	+28.2
Turnout			18,418	50.9	−26.2
Registered electors			36,213
	Unionist hold		Swing	+24.9
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Essex South East ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Frank Hilder	13,522	54.1	−9.5
	Labour	Philip Hoffman	11,459	45.9	+16.9
Majority			2,063	8.2	−26.4
Turnout			24,981	58.9	+8.0
Registered electors			42,406
	Unionist hold		Swing	−13.2

General election 1923: Essex South East ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Hoffman	13,979	53.0	+7.1
	Unionist	Frank Hilder	12,379	47.0	−7.1
Majority			1,600	6.0	N/A
Turnout			26,358	58.1	−0.8
Registered electors			45,363
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+7.1

General election 1924: Essex South East ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Herbert Looker	19,731	58.8	+11.8
	Labour	Philip Hoffman	13,820	41.2	−11.8
Majority			5,911	17.6	N/A
Turnout			33,551	69.3	+11.2
Registered electors			48,412
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	+11.8

General election 1929: Essex South East ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jack Oldfield	18,756	37.6	−3.6
	Unionist	Herbert Looker	18,130	36.3	−22.5
	Liberal	George Thomas Veness	13,030	26.1	New
Majority			626	1.3	N/A
Turnout			49,916	65.3	−4.0
Registered electors			76,466
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+9.5

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Essex South East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Victor Raikes	30,436	53.4	+17.1
	Labour	Jack Oldfield	20,066	35.2	−2.4
	National Labour	Felix Greene	6,539	11.5	New
Majority			10,370	18.2	N/A
Turnout			57,041	66.8	+1.5
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1935: Essex South East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Victor Raikes	25,912	44.2	−9.2
	Labour	Jack Oldfield	24,942	42.5	+7.3
	Liberal	Arthur Musgrove Mathews	7,797	13.3	New
Majority			970	1.7	−16.5
Turnout			58,651	59.5	−7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Essex South East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ray Gunter	25,581	53.8	+11.3
	Conservative	Aubrey Jones	21,990	46.2	+2.0
Majority			3,591	7.6	N/A
Turnout			47,571	65.8	+6.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1955: Essex South East^[9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	20,531	59.73
	Labour Co-op	Edward W Harby	13,841	40.27
Majority			6,690	19.46
Turnout			34,372	72.93
Registered electors			47,132
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1959: Essex South East^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	28,124	60.99	+1.26
	Labour	Reginald M Fryer	17,991	39.01	−1.26
Majority			10,133	21.98	+2.52
Turnout			46,115	76.46	+3.53
Registered electors			60,315
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.26

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Essex South East^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	33,494	56.98	−4.01
	Labour	Anthony Pearson-Clarke	25,293	43.02	+4.01
Majority			8,201	13.96	−8.02
Turnout			58,787	75.02	−1.44
Registered electors			78,364
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.01

General election 1966: Essex South East^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	31,942	48.50	−8.48
	Labour	Derek W Edwards	26,208	39.80	−3.22
	Liberal	Joyce Arram	7,706	11.70	New
Majority			5,734	8.70	−5.26
Turnout			65,856	77.34	+2.32
Registered electors			85.151
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.63

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Essex South East^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	41,589	57.70	+9.20
	Labour	Derek W Edwards	23,684	32.86	−6.94
	Liberal	Christopher H Bohling	6,811	9.45	−2.25
Majority			17,905	24.84	+16.14
Turnout			72,084	71.86	−5.48
Registered electors			85,151
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.07

General election February 1974: Essex South East^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	28,644	46.26	−11.44
	Labour	David Bryn Jones	19,379	31.30	−1.56
	Liberal	Frances Alexander	13,891	22.44	+12.99
Majority			9,265	14.96	−13.88
Turnout			61,914	82.09	+10.23
Registered electors			75,394
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.94

General election October 1974: Essex South East^[17][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	27,348	48.81	+2.54
	Labour	David Bryn Jones	18,638	33.26	+1.96
	Liberal	Anthony Morris	10,049	17.93	−4.50
Majority			8,710	15.55	+0.59
Turnout			56,035	73.74	−8.35
Registered electors			76,013
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.29

General election 1979: Essex South East^[18][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bernard Braine	40,497	63.96	+15.15
	Labour	Nigel Smith	15,965	25.21	−8.05
	Liberal	Frances Alexander	6,858	10.83	−7.10
Majority			24,532	38.75	+23.20
Turnout			63,320	76.89	+3.15
Registered electors			82,350
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.60

References

1. Great Britain, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. The public general acts. unknown library. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports, 1884.
2. Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0900178094. OCLC 539011.
3. Gay, Oonagh (28 July 2010). "The Rules for the Redistribution of Seats- history and reform". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
5. Cox, William. "General Election results covering the Basildon area 1885 - 1935". Basildon History. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
6. British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 (Craig)
7. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1922
8. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
9. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
10. The Times Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
11. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
12. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
13. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
14. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
15. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
16. "'Essex South East', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
17. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
18. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 22 March 2016.