Thurrock (UK Parliament constituency)

Thurrock is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Jackie Doyle-Price, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

Thurrock in Essex, showing boundaries used from 1945 to 1950.

1945-1983: The Urban District of Thurrock.

1983-2010: The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, East Tilbury, Grays Thurrock North, Grays Thurrock Town, Little Thurrock, Ockendon, Stifford, Tilbury, and West Thurrock.

2010–present: The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley and Uplands, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, Chafford and North Stifford, Grays Riverside, Grays Thurrock, Little Thurrock Blackshots, Little Thurrock Rectory, Ockendon, South Chafford, Stifford Clays, Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park, Tilbury St Chads, West Thurrock, and South Stifford.

History

History of boundaries

The loss of the area to the east was of a similar landscape and built environment, except for Canvey Island which demographically has a high retired proportion of its population. Its scant social housing contrasts with its modest incomes and fewer than average large gardens and large houses as is common in coastal communities.

History of results

Thurrock was for 38 years from and including 1945 a large-majority Labour seat in parliamentary elections. The post-Falklands War election in 1983 gave majority of less than 4% of the vote to a recently-split Labour Party — for which see SDP. A Conservative gained the Thurrock seat in 1987 with a small majority. In 1992 the division was regained by a Labour candidate, namely Andrew MacKinlay, who was during his tenure as MP criticised for his questioning technique used of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly.

In the 2010 general election, a Conservative gained the seat, with Jackie Doyle-Price being elected as the MP with a majority of 92 votes, the third most marginal in that election.^[2] The 2015 result gave the seat the 8th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority.^[3]

The seat has bellwether outcome status since 1997.

Prominent frontbenchers

Dr Oonagh McDonald was Opposition Spokesman on Defence from 1981–1983, and then Opposition Spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs from 1983–1987.

Constituency profile

Held by the Conservatives with a majority of just over 300 votes, Thurrock is a marginal seat between the Conservatives and Labour. This industrial Essex seat, east of London, includes the towns of Grays, Tilbury and Purfleet and 18 miles of the north bank of the Thames.

Historically known for quarrying and heavy industry, it is now a retail destination thanks to the Lakeside shopping centre. Retail and distribution are big employers, while Tilbury Power Station has closed and Coryton oil refinery is being redeveloped as a business park. Tilbury is also London's major port, handling millions of tonnes of cargo a year and is a major cruise ship terminal.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 4.8% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian. The regional average for the Eastern England region was considerably lower, at 3.2% of the population.^[4]

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

At the 2015 general election the already-marginal seat became a 3-way ultra-marginal seat. Less than 1,000 votes separated the top three candidates.

In 2017, the Conservatives needed to defend against both UKIP and Labour to hold it. It was number 1 on UKIP's 2017 target list, the party only needed a 0.98% swing to win the seat from third place.^[6] The constituency was also at number 7 on Labour's target list, with a 0.54% swing needed for their candidate to win the seat.^[7] In the event, the swing to Labour was around 0.2% and the Conservatives held the seat. This marks the third consecutive time Thurrock has been won by a majority of under 1,000 votes, making it the most marginal seat in Essex by a substantial margin (the next most marginal, Rochford and Southend East as of the 2017 general election, has a majority of more than 5,500 votes).

2017 General Election: Thurrock ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	19,880	39.5	5.8
	Labour	John Kent	19,535	38.8	6.2
	UKIP	Tim Aker	10,112	20.1	11.6
	Liberal Democrat	Kevin McNamara	798	1.6	0.3
Majority			345	0.7
Turnout			50,325	64.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.2

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Election in the 1940s

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Essex

Notes

References

Coordinates: 51°29′N 0°19′E / 51.48°N 0.32°E / 51.48; 0.32