# Southend (UK Parliament constituency)

Southend-on-Sea was a parliamentary constituency centred on the then-town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

## History

The constituency was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918 by splitting the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea from the existing constituency of South East Essex. The sitting MP for that constituency, Rupert Guinness, was elected to the new constituency. It was abolished for the 1950 general election, when the expanded County Borough (which had incorporated the Urban District of Shoeburyness) was divided into the new constituencies of Southend East and Southend West.

## Boundaries

1918–1945: The County Borough of Southend-on-Sea.
1945–1950: Part of the County Borough of Southend-on-Sea. (No changes to constituency boundaries).

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | Rupert Guinness, Viscount Elveden | Conservative |
| 1927 by-election | Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh | Conservative |
| 1935 | Henry Channon | Conservative |
| 1950 | constituency abolished: see Southend East and Southend West | constituency abolished: see Southend East and Southend West |

### Guinness family

For most of the 20th century, this constituency and one of its successors was held by four members of the Guinness family. When Rupert Guinness was elevated to the Peerage upon the death of his father, he was succeeded by his wife, Gwendolen. When she retired in 1935 she was succeeded by her eldest daughter's husband, Henry "Chips" Channon. Channon continued to serve as MP for one of the successor constituencies, Southend West, until his death in 1958. That seat was then represented by his son, Paul Channon, until 1997. Because of this connection, the seat became known in the media as "Guinness-on-Sea".

## Elections
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | Rupert Guinness | 12,392 | 63.3 | |
| | Ind. Conservative | Joseph Francis | 4,242 | 21.6 | |
| | Liberal | Chalton Hubbard | 2,965 | 15.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,150 | 41.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,599 | 53.9 | |
| | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) | Unionist win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Rupert Guinness | 17,920 | 61.9 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal | Henry George Walker | 11,039 | 38.1 | +23.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,881 | 23.8 | −17.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,959 | 68.0 | +14.1 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −12.2 | |
General election 1923: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Rupert Guinness | 15,566 | 50.2 | −11.7 |
| | Liberal | Douglas Young | 15,453 | 49.8 | +11.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 113 | 0.4 | −23.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,019 | 69.3 | +1.3 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −11.7 | |
General election 1924: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Rupert Guinness | 23,417 | 62.5 | +12.3 |
| | Liberal | Douglas Young | 10,924 | 29.1 | −20.7 |
| | Labour | Sydney Alexander Moseley | 3,144 | 8.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,493 | 33.4 | +30.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,485 | 79.3 | +10.0 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
1927 Southend by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Gwendolen Guinness | 21,221 | 54.6 | −7.9 |
| | Liberal | Dougal Meston | 11,912 | 30.7 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | James Erskine Harper | 4,777 | 12.3 | +3.9 |
| | Ind. Conservative | E.A. Hailwood | 917 | 2.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,309 | 23.9 | −9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,827 | 73.2 | −6.1 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | Gwendolen Guinness | 27,605 | 55.8 | −6.7 |
| | Liberal | Dougal Meston | 21,884 | 44.2 | +15.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,721 | 11.6 | −21.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,489 | 67.0 | −12.3 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gwendolen Guinness | 46,564 | 85.7 | +29.9 |
| | Labour | Albert Bechervaise | 7,741 | 14.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38,823 | 71.4 | +59.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,305 | 68.5 | +1.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General election 1935: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Channon | 36,865 | 65.1 | −20.6 |
| | Liberal | Murray Gladstone | 11,934 | 21.1 | New |
| | Labour | Helen Keynes | 7,796 | 13.8 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,931 | 44.0 | −27.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 56,595 | 65.9 | −2.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1939–40
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
* Conservative: Henry Channon
* Liberal: Phillip Whitehead
* Labour: GR Sandison

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Southend :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Channon | 23,712 | 44.6 | −20.5 |
| | Labour | Gordon Sandison | 20,635 | 38.9 | +20.1 |
| | Liberal | H Douglas Tanner | 8,735 | 16.5 | −4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,077 | 5.7 | −38.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,082 | 73.3 | +7.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |