Rayleigh and Wickford (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Rayleigh and Wickford

County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Rayleigh and Wickford in Essex

Location of Essex within England

County| Essex
Electorate| 78,930 (December 2019)[1]
Major settlements| Hawkwell, Hockley, Rayleigh and Wickford
Current constituency
Created| 2010
Member of Parliament| Mark Francois (Conservative Party)
Seats| One
Created from| Rayleigh, Billericay

Rayleigh and Wickford is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Mark Francois, a Conservative.[n 2]

## Constituency profile[edit]

This small-town studded portion of rural Essex reaches out almost as far as the North Sea beside Rochford and has income levels on average slightly above the national average, low unemployment,[2] and little social housing.[3][4]

## History[edit]

The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary representation of Essex by the Boundary Commission for England. It was formed from the majority of the abolished constituency of Rayleigh, together with the town of Wickford, previously in the abolished constituency of Billericay.

Francois was previously Member of Parliament for Rayleigh.

## Boundaries[edit]

### Current[edit]

* The Borough of Basildon wards of Wickford Castledon, Wickford North, and Wickford Park
* The District of Rochford wards of Ashingdon and Canewdon, Downhall and Rawreth, Grange, Hawkwell North, Hawkwell South, Hawkwell West, Hockley Central, Hockley North, Hockley West, Hullbridge, Lodge, Rayleigh Central, Sweyne Park, Trinity, Wheatley and Whitehouse.[5]

Map of current boundaries

### Proposed[edit]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the next general election, due by January 2025, will be (as they existed on 1st December 2020):

* The Borough of Basildon wards of: Wickford Castledon; Wickford North; Wickford Park.
* The District of Rochford wards of: Downhall & Rawreth; Hawkwell East; Hawkwell West; Hockley; Hockley & Ashingdon; Hullbridge; Lodge; Sweyne Park & Grange; Trinity; Wheatley.[6]

Minor loss of sparsely populated area in the east of the constituency to the newly named Southend East and Rochford seat.

## Members of Parliament[edit]

Election | Member[7] | Party

|
|

| 2010 | Mark Francois | Conservative

## Elections[edit]

### Elections in the 2020s[edit]

Next general election: Rayleigh and Wickford  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Reform UK | Grant Randall[8] |  |  |

### Elections in the 2010s[edit]

General election 2019: Rayleigh and Wickford[9] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Mark Francois | 39,864  | 72.6  | +5.9
| Labour | David Flack  | 8,864  | 16.1  | -8.2
| Liberal Democrats | Ron Tindall  | 4,171  | 7.6  | +4.8
| Green | Paul Thorogood  | 2,002  | 3.6  | +1.7
Majority  | 31,000  | 56.5  | +14.1
Turnout | 54,901  | 69.5  | -0.9
| Conservative hold | Swing | +7.0  |
General election 2017: Rayleigh and Wickford  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Mark Francois | 36,914  | 66.7  | +12.0
| Labour | Mark Daniels  | 13,464  | 24.3  | +11.7
| UKIP | Peter Smith  | 2,326  | 4.2  | -18.1
| Liberal Democrats | Ron Tindall  | 1,557  | 2.8  | -0.2
| Green | Paul Hill  | 1,062  | 1.9  | -1.0
Majority  | 23,450  | 42.4  | +10.0
Turnout | 55,323  | 70.4  | +2.1
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.2  |
General election 2015: Rayleigh and Wickford[10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Mark Francois | 29,088  | 54.7  | −3.1
| UKIP | John Hayter[11] | 11,858  | 22.3  | +18.1
| Labour | David Hough  | 6,705  | 12.6  | −1.9
| Independent | Linda Kendall[12] | 2,418  | 4.5  | New
| Liberal Democrats | Mike Pitt[13] | 1,622  | 3.0  | −12.1
| Green | Sarah Yapp[14] | 1,529  | 2.9  | New
Majority  | 17,230  | 32.4  | -10.3
Turnout | 53,220  | 68.3  | +2.4
| Conservative hold | Swing | −10.6  |
General election 2010: Rayleigh and Wickford[15][16] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Conservative | Mark Francois*  | 30,257  | 57.8  | +3.9
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Gaszczak  | 7,919  | 15.1  | −0.3
| Labour | Michael Le Surf  | 7,577  | 14.5  | -12.0
| English Democrat | John Hayter  | 2,219  | 4.2  | New
| UKIP | Tino Callaghan  | 2,211  | 4.2  | +0.1
| BNP | Tony Evennett  | 2,160  | 4.1  | New
Majority  | 22,338  | 42.7  | +15.3
Turnout | 50,132  | 65.9  |
| Conservative hold | Swing | +8.0  |

* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

## See also[edit]

* List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. ^ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Election history of Rayleigh and Wickford". members.parliament.uk.
2. ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
3. ^ "Local statistics - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
4. ^ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
5. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
6. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
7. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
8. ^ "Find My PPC (Eastern England)" (PDF). Reform UK. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
9. ^ "Rayleigh & Wickford Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
10. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
11. ^ "Election Campaign". UKIP Rayleigh and Wickford. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
12. ^ Nizinskyj, Paul (10 March 2015). "Campaigner Linda wants to be an MP". Echo. Southend.
13. ^ "Candidates (PPCs) for Rayleigh and Wickford". Retrieved 3 April 2015.
14. ^ "Candidates". Eastern Green Party. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
15. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
16. ^ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Rayleigh & Wickford". news.bbc.co.uk.

* v
* t
* e

Constituencies in the East of England (58)

Conservative (50)|

* Basildon and Billericay
* Braintree
* Brentwood and Ongar
* Broadland
* Broxbourne
* Bury St Edmunds
* Castle Point
* Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
* Chelmsford
* Clacton
* Colchester
* Epping Forest
* Great Yarmouth
* Harlow
* Harwich and North Essex
* Hemel Hempstead
* Hertford and Stortford
* Hertsmere
* Hitchin and Harpenden
* Huntingdon
* Ipswich
* Maldon
* Mid Norfolk
* North East Bedfordshire
* North East Cambridgeshire
* North East Hertfordshire
* North Norfolk
* North West Cambridgeshire
* North West Norfolk
* Norwich North
* Peterborough
* Rayleigh and Wickford
* Rochford and Southend East
* Saffron Walden
* South Basildon and East Thurrock
* South Cambridgeshire
* South East Cambridgeshire
* South Norfolk
* South Suffolk
* South West Bedfordshire
* South West Hertfordshire
* South West Norfolk
* Southend West
* Stevenage
* Suffolk Coastal
* Thurrock
* Watford
* Waveney
* Welwyn Hatfield
* Witham

Labour (6)|

* Bedford
* Cambridge
* Luton North
* Luton South
* Mid Bedfordshire
* Norwich South

Liberal Democrats (1)|

* St Albans

Independent (1)|

* West Suffolk

* East Midlands
* East of England
* London
* North East England
* North West England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* South East England
* South West England
* Wales
* West Midlands
* Yorkshire and the Humber

Authority control databases: People |

* UK Parliament

|

51°36′N 0°42′E﻿ / ﻿51.6°N 0.7°E﻿ / 51.6; 0.7
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template