# Rayleigh (UK Parliament constituency)

Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex 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 from 1997 to 2010.

## History

This seat was created for the 1997 general election primarily from the abolished constituency of Rochford. It was abolished at the next redistribution which came into effect for the 2010 general election, when the town of Wickford was added to form the Rayleigh and Wickford constituency.
This largely rural constituency was the tenth-safest Conservative seat in the United Kingdom and the second-safest seat in Essex.

## Boundaries

* The District of Rochford wards of Ashingdon, Canewdon, Downhall, Grange and Rawreth, Hawkwell East, Hawkwell West, Hockley Central, Hockley East, Hockley West, Hullbridge Riverside, Hullbridge South, Lodge, Rayleigh Central, Trinity, Wheatley, and Whitehouse; and
* The Borough of Chelmsford wards of East and West Hanningfield, Rettendon and Runwell, South Hanningfield, South Woodham-Collingwood East, and West and South Woodham-Elmwood and Woodville.
Centred around the town of Rayleigh, the seat was formed primarily from the abolished constituency of Rochford, but excluding the town of Rochford itself. A small area to the north was transferred from the abolished constituency of Chelmsford.
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, which came into effect for the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission for England made radical alterations to existing constituencies to allow for the number of parliamentary seats in the county to be increased to eighteen. These changes included the formation of a number of new constituencies in the southern and eastern parts of the county. Rayleigh was abolished, with the majority of the constituency, comprising the District of Rochford wards, being combined with the town of Wickford - previously part of the abolished constituency of Billericay - to form the new constituency of Rayleigh and Wickford. The Borough of Chelmsford wards were now included in the re-established constituency of Maldon.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1997 | Michael Clark | Conservative |
| 2001 | Mark Francois | Conservative |
| 2010 | Constituency abolished: see Rayleigh and Wickford | Constituency abolished: see Rayleigh and Wickford |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Rayleigh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Francois | 25,609 | 55.4 | +5.3 |
| | Labour | Julian Ware-Lane | 10,883 | 23.6 | −7.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sid Cumberland | 7,406 | 16.0 | +0.5 |
| | UKIP | Janet Davies | 2,295 | 5.0 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,726 | 31.8 | +12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,193 | 64.2 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.2 | |
General election 2001: Rayleigh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Francois | 21,434 | 50.1 | +0.4 |
| | Labour | Paul Clark | 13,144 | 30.7 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoff Williams | 6,614 | 15.5 | −4.3 |
| | UKIP | Colin Morgan | 1,581 | 3.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,290 | 19.4 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,773 | 60.5 | −13.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −1.4 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

The 1997 election result has swings relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
General election 1997: Rayleigh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Clark | 25,516 | 49.7 | −11.4 |
| | Labour | Raymond Ellis | 14,832 | 28.9 | +14.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sid Cumberland | 10,137 | 19.8 | −2.1 |
| | Liberal | Alan Farmer | 829 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,684 | 20.8 | −18.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,314 | 74.3 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −12.7 | |