Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Basildon Borough constituency |
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| Basildon shown within Essex, and Essex shown within England | |
| Created: | 1974 |
| MP: | Angela Smith |
| Party: | Labour Co-operative |
| Type: | House of Commons |
| County: | Essex |
| EP constituency: | East of England |
Basildon is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
It is one of the best known bellwether constituencies in the UK, having voted for the winning party in each election since its creation in 1974. 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.
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[edit] Boundaries
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England has made radical changes to all parliamentary constituencies in the county for the 2009/10 UK General Election. The current Basildon constituency is to be divided, with the larger part merged with Billericay to form a new Basildon and Billericay constituency, whilst the southern electoral wards will form a new constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock
[edit] Profile
- Further information: Essex man
Basildon 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 originated from Plaistow in East London and now holds the safer seat of Southend West.
Labour took the seat in 1997 and 2001 with a large majority, and in 2005 with a reduced majority. Basildon has thus proved to be a "bellwether" seat, voting for the eventual winning party since 1974.
[edit] Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 1974 | Eric Moonman | Labour | |
| October 1974 | |||
| 1979 | Harvey Proctor | Conservative | |
| 1983 | David Amess | Conservative | |
| 1987 | |||
| 1992 | |||
| 1997 | Angela Smith | Labour Co-operative | |
| 2001 | |||
| 2005 | |||
[edit] Election results
[edit] 2000s
| General Election 2005: Basildon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour Co-op | Angela Smith | 18,720 | 43.4 | -9.3 | |
| Conservative | Aaron Powell | 15,578 | 36.1 | +2.3 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Martin Thompson | 4,473 | 10.4 | +1.4 | |
| British National Party | Emma Colgate | 2,055 | 4.8 | +4.8 | |
| UK Independence | Alix Blythe | 1,143 | 2.6 | -0.8 | |
| Green | Vikki Copping | 662 | 1.5 | +1.5 | |
| English Democrats | Kim Gandy | 510 | 1.2 | +1.2 | |
| Majority | 3,142 | 7.3 | |||
| Turnout | 43,141 | 58.4 | +3.3 | ||
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | -5.8 | |||
| General Election 2001: Basildon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour Co-op | Angela Smith | 21,551 | 52.7 | -3.1 | |
| Conservative | Dominic Schofield | 13,813 | 33.8 | +3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Jane Smithard | 3,691 | 9.0 | +0.3 | |
| UK Independence | Frank Mallon | 1,397 | 3.4 | N/A | |
| Socialist Alliance | Dick Duane | 423 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,738 | 18.9 | |||
| Turnout | 40,875 | 55.1 | -16.9 | ||
| Labour Co-op hold | Swing | ||||
