# Southend East (UK Parliament constituency)

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

## 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. It was abolished for the 1997 general election when it was replaced by Rochford and Southend East.
Southend East was a mostly safe Conservative seat throughout its existence, although their majority was only just over 500 votes in 1966, and at the by-election in 1980 when the Conservatives held the seat by only 430 votes. From this by-election until its abolition, Southend East was held by the Conservative Teddy Taylor.

## Boundaries and boundary changes

1950–1955
* The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of All Saints, Pier, Shoebury, Southchurch, and Thorpe; and
* The Rural District of Rochford.
Formed primarily from eastern parts of the abolished Parliamentary Borough of Southend-on-Sea. The Rural District of Rochford and the former Urban District of Shoeburyness (which had been absorbed by the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea) had previously been part of the abolished South-Eastern Division of Essex.
1955–1983
* The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of All Saints, Milton, Pier, Shoebury, Southchurch, Temple Sutton, Thorpe and Victoria.
Realignment of boundary with Southend West. The Rural District of Rochford was transferred back to the re-established constituency of South East Essex.
1983–1997
* The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Milton, St Luke's, Shoebury, Southchurch, Thorpe, and Victoria.
Marginal changes following the redistribution of wards in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea.
The constituency included Southend town centre, and parts of the Borough of Southend to the east.
In 1997, Southend East was abolished and expanded to the north to include the town of Rochford once again, forming the new constituency of Rochford and Southend East.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1950 | Stephen McAdden | Conservative | Died December 1979 |
| 1980 by-election | Teddy Taylor | Conservative | Subsequently, MP for Rochford and Southend East 1997–2005 |
| 1997 | constituency abolished: see Rochford and Southend East | constituency abolished: see Rochford and Southend East |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 20,395 | 47.1 | |
| | Labour | Rubeigh James Minney | 18,230 | 42.2 | |
| | Liberal | John Greig Runciman | 4,616 | 10.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,165 | 4.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,241 | 82.5 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 24,088 | 55.3 | +8.2 |
| | Labour | Leslie Merrion | 19,478 | 44.7 | +2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,610 | 10.6 | +5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,566 | 80.6 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.8 | |
General election 1955: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 23,958 | 58.2 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | William Harold Clough | 17,200 | 41.8 | −2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,758 | 16.4 | +5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,158 | 74.0 | −6.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +2.9 | |
General election 1959: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 24,712 | 59.3 | +1.1 |
| | Labour | Eric James Trevett | 16,987 | 40.7 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,725 | 18.6 | +2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,699 | 75.5 | +1.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +1.0 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 19,775 | 46.6 | −12.7 |
| | Labour | Eric James Trevett | 16,408 | 38.6 | −2.1 |
| | Liberal | David E Evans | 6,296 | 14.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,367 | 8.0 | −10.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,479 | 76.2 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −5.3 | |
General election 1966: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 19,125 | 45.3 | −1.3 |
| | Labour | Peter R Clyne | 18,608 | 44.1 | +5.5 |
| | Liberal | Keith W Baynes | 4,495 | 10.6 | −4.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 517 | 1.2 | −6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,228 | 76.9 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −3.3 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 24,025 | 58.5 | +13.2 |
| | Labour | Peter R Clyne | 17,065 | 41.5 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,960 | 16.9 | +15.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,090 | 71.2 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +5.3 | |
General election February 1974: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 19,600 | 44.3 | −14.2 |
| | Labour | Motel Burstin | 14,648 | 33.1 | −8.4 |
| | Liberal | James Walter John Curry | 9,979 | 22.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,952 | 11.2 | −5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,227 | 77.8 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.9 | |
General election October 1974: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 18,083 | 45.9 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Susan Katharine Ward | 13,480 | 34.2 | +1.1 |
| | Liberal | James Walter John Curry | 7,856 | 19.9 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,603 | 11.7 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,419 | 68.8 | −9.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.2 | |
General election 1979: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen McAdden | 22,413 | 56.1 | +10.2 |
| | Labour | Anthony Nicholas Wright | 11,639 | 29.1 | −5.1 |
| | Liberal | James Hugill | 5,244 | 13.1 | −6.8 |
| | National Front | Patrick Edward Twomey | 676 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,774 | 27.0 | +15.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,972 | 70.1 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +7.6 | |
1980 Southend East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Teddy Taylor | 13,117 | 36.8 | −19.3 |
| | Labour | Colin George | 12,687 | 35.6 | +6.5 |
| | Liberal | David E Evans | 8,939 | 25.1 | +12.0 |
| | New Britain | Terence Robertson | 532 | 1.5 | New |
| | Anti Common-Market Free Trade | Oliver Smedley | 207 | 0.6 | New |
| | Independent Liberal | James Curry | 132 | 0.4 | New |
| | Democratic Monarchist, Public Safety, White Resident | Bill Boaks | 23 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 430 | 1.2 | −25.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,637 | 62.5 | −7.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −12.87 | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Teddy Taylor | 21,743 | 55.8 | −0.3 |
| | SDP | Colin George | 11,052 | 28.3 | New |
| | Labour | Conor O'Brien | 6,188 | 15.9 | −13.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,691 | 27.5 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,983 | 67.6 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −7.8 | |
General election 1987: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Teddy Taylor | 23,573 | 58.0 | +2.2 |
| | SDP | Humphry Berkeley | 9,906 | 24.2 | −4.1 |
| | Labour | David Scully | 7,296 | 17.8 | +1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,847 | 33.8 | +6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,955 | 69.3 | +1.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Southend East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Teddy Taylor | 24,591 | 58.8 | +0.8 |
| | Labour | Graham Bramley | 11,480 | 27.4 | +9.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jackie Horne | 5,107 | 12.2 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal | Brian Lynch | 673 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,111 | 31.4 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,851 | 73.8 | +4.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |