Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974–2010

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Basildon

Former borough constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Basildon in Essex from 1997-2010.

Location of Essex within England.

County| Essex
February 1974–2010
Seats| One
Created from| Billericay
Replaced by| Basildon and Billericay, South Basildon and East Thurrock

Basildon was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## History

[edit]

The seat was created for the February 1974 general election from the majority of the abolished constituency of Billericay. Its electorate was reduced for the 1983 general election when Billericay was re-established. It underwent a major redistributions for the 1997 election and again for the 2010 election, when it was renamed as South Basildon and East Thurrock.

Basildon was one of the best known bellwether constituencies in Britain, having voted for the winning party in each election for the duration of its existence. The failure of the Labour Party to win it in the 1992 election — Basildon would be the first to declare of all the marginal seats — foreshadowed Labour's fourth straight defeat at the hands of the Conservative Party.

It was a (famously) Conservative seat between 1979 and 1997 as the quintessential "Essex man" constituency based on the new town of Basildon. Much of its population has its origins in the East End of London, who as a group traditionally voted for the Labour Party.

However, throughout the 1980s and until the Labour landslide victory of 1997, many voters in the area transferred their loyalties to the Conservative Party. The MP throughout that period was David Amess, who himself originated from east London (Plaistow), and later held the safer seat of Southend West. New Labour sought to take seats exactly like this one, which were crucial in ensuring they won the 1997 general election by a landslide. Labour took the seat in 1997 and 2001 with a large majority, and in 2005 with a reduced majority.

Both the successor seats that replaced Basildon in 2010 were considered to be much less favourable to Labour than the old Basildon seat, ending Basildon's bellwether status.[1]

Further information: Essex man

## Boundaries and boundary changes

[edit]

Basildon in Essex 1974-83 Basildon in Essex 1983-97

### 1974–1983

[edit]

* The Urban District of Basildon.[2]

Formed from the majority of the abolished constituency of Billericay, comprising the former Urban District thereof, which had been reconstituted as the Urban District of Basildon.

### 1983–1997

[edit]

* The District of Basildon wards of Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, Pitsea East, Pitsea West, and Vange.[3]

Northern parts, including Billericay and Wickford transferred to the re-established constituency of Billericay.

### 1997–2010

[edit]

* The District of Basildon wards of Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, and Vange; and
* The Borough of Thurrock wards of Corringham and Fobbing, Orsett, Stanford-le-Hope, and The Homesteads.[4]

Major realignment of boundaries with Billericay; Pitsea was transferred to Billericay in exchange for the northern part of the Borough of Thurrock.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England made radical changes to all parliamentary constituencies in the county for the 2010 general election, and the Basildon constituency was divided. The majority of the seat formed the basis of the new South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, while the wards around central Basildon were merged with the majority of the former Billericay constituency to form a new seat called Basildon and Billericay.

## Members of Parliament

[edit]

Election | Member[5] | Party

|
|

| February 1974 | Eric Moonman | Labour
| 1979 | Harvey Proctor | Conservative
| 1983 | David Amess | Conservative
| 1997 | Angela Smith | Labour Co-op
| 2010 | constituency abolished: see South Basildon and East Thurrock and Basildon and Billericay

## Elections

[edit]

### Elections in the 1970s

[edit]

General election February 1974: Basildon  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Eric Moonman | 33,499  | 45.2  |
| Conservative | Ronald Denney  | 22,832  | 30.8  |
| Liberal | Edward Fortune  | 17,794  | 24.0  |
Majority  | 10,667  | 14.4  |
Turnout | 74,125  | 82.0  |
| Labour win (new seat)
General election October 1974: Basildon  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | Eric Moonman | 32,298  | 47.9  | +2.7
| Conservative | David Atkinson | 21,747  | 32.2  | +1.4
| Liberal | Edward Fortune  | 12,816  | 19.0  | ―5.0
| Ind. Labour Party | Robert Chaplin  | 599  | 0.9  | New
Majority  | 10,551  | 15.6  | +1.2
Turnout | 67,460  | 73.8  | ―8.2
| Labour hold | Swing | +0.6  |
General election 1979: Basildon  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Harvey Proctor | 37,919  | 46.9  | +14.7
| Labour | Eric Moonman | 32,739  | 40.5  | ―7.4
| Liberal | Raymond Auvray  | 9,280  | 11.5  | ―7.5
Majority  | 5,180  | 6.4  | N/A
Turnout | 79,938  | 78.0  | +5.2
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +11.05  |

### Elections in the 1980s

[edit]

Note: This constituency underwent boundary changes after the 1979 election, so was notionally a Labour seat.

General election 1983: Basildon[6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | David Amess | 17,516  | 38.7  | +3.6
| Labour Co-op | Julian Fulbrook  | 16,137  | 35.6  | ―17.0
| SDP | Sue Slipman | 11,634  | 25.7  | +14.4
Majority  | 1,379  | 3.0  | N/A
Turnout | 45,287  | 69.0  | ―9.0
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +10.3  |
General election 1987: Basildon[7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | David Amess | 21,858  | 43.5  | +4.8
| Labour Co-op | Julian Fulbrook  | 19,209  | 38.3  | +2.7
| Liberal | Raymond Auvray  | 9,139  | 18.2  | ―7.5
Majority  | 2,649  | 5.3  | +2.3
Turnout | 50,206  | 73.8  | +4.8
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.1  |

### Elections in the 1990s

[edit]

General election 1992: Basildon[8][9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | David Amess | 24,159  | 44.9  | +1.4
| Labour Co-op | John Potter  | 22,679  | 42.2  | +3.9
| Liberal Democrats | Geoffrey Williams  | 6,967  | 12.9  | ―5.3
Majority  | 1,480  | 2.7  | ―2.6
Turnout | 53,805  | 79.8  | +6.0
| Conservative hold | Swing | ―1.3  |
General election 1997: Basildon[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Angela Smith | 29,646  | 55.8  | +15.1
| Conservative | John Baron | 16,366  | 30.8  | ―14.2
| Liberal Democrats | Lindsay Granshaw | 4,608  | 8.7  | ―6.5
| Referendum | Craig Robinson  | 2,462  | 4.6  | New
Majority  | 13,280  | 25.0  | N/A
Turnout | 53,082  | 72.0  | ―7.6
| Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | Swing | +14.7  |

### Elections in the 2000s

[edit]

General election 2001: Basildon[11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Angela Smith | 21,551  | 52.7  | ―3.1
| Conservative | Dominic Schofield  | 13,813  | 33.8  | +3.0
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Smithard  | 3,691  | 9.0  | +0.3
| UKIP | Frank Mallon  | 1,397  | 3.4  | New
| Socialist Alliance | Dick Duane  | 423  | 1.0  | New
Majority  | 7,738  | 18.9  | ―6.1
Turnout | 40,875  | 55.1  | ―16.9
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | ―3.0  |
General election 2005: Basildon[12] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour Co-op | Angela Smith | 18,720  | 43.4  | ―9.3
| Conservative | Aaron Powell  | 15,578  | 36.1  | +2.3
| Liberal Democrats | Martin Thompson  | 4,473  | 10.4  | +1.4
| BNP | Emma Colgate  | 2,055  | 4.8  | New
| UKIP | Alix Blythe  | 1,143  | 2.6  | ―0.8
| Green | Vikki Copping  | 662  | 1.5  | New
| English Democrat | Kim Gandy  | 510  | 1.2  | New
Majority  | 3,142  | 7.3  | ―11.6
Turnout | 43,141  | 58.4  | +3.3
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | ―5.8  |

## See also

[edit]

* List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex

## Notes and references

[edit]

1. ^ Waller, Robert; Criddle, Byron (2007). The Almanac of British Politics (8th ed.). UK: Routledge. pp. 127–128, 160–161. ISBN 978-0-415-37823-9.
2. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1970". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
3. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
4. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
5. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 1)
6. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
7. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
8. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
10. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Basildon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK

* v
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Constituencies in the East of England (61)

Labour (27)|

* Bedford
* Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket
* Cambridge
* Colchester
* Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
* Harlow
* Hemel Hempstead
* Hertford and Stortford
* Hitchin
* Ipswich
* Lowestoft
* Luton North
* Luton South and South Bedfordshire
* North East Hertfordshire
* North West Cambridgeshire
* Norwich North
* Norwich South
* Peterborough
* South Norfolk
* South West Norfolk
* Southend East and Rochford
* Southend West and Leigh
* Stevenage
* Suffolk Coastal
* Thurrock
* Watford
* Welwyn Hatfield

Conservative (23)|

* Basildon and Billericay
* Braintree
* Brentwood and Ongar
* Broadland and Fakenham
* Broxbourne
* Castle Point
* Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
* Epping Forest
* Harwich and North Essex
* Hertsmere
* Huntingdon
* Maldon
* Mid Bedfordshire
* Mid Norfolk
* North Bedfordshire
* North East Cambridgeshire
* North West Essex
* North West Norfolk
* Rayleigh and Wickford
* South Suffolk
* South West Hertfordshire
* West Suffolk
* Witham

Liberal Democrats (7)|

* Chelmsford
* Ely and East Cambridgeshire
* Harpenden and Berkhamsted
* North Norfolk
* St Albans
* St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire
* South Cambridgeshire

Reform UK (3)|

* Clacton
* Great Yarmouth
* South Basildon and East Thurrock

Green Party (1)|

* Waveney Valley

51°31′N 0°24′E﻿ / ﻿51.52°N 0.40°E﻿ / 51.52; 0.40
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