Basildon was a parliamentary constituency 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.
History The seat was created for the February 1974 general election from the majority of the abolished constituency of Billericay. Its electorate was reduced for the 1983 general election when Billericay was re-established. It underwent a major redistributions for the 1997 election and again for the 2010 election, when it was renamed as South Basildon and East Thurrock.
Basildon was one of the best known bellwether constituencies in Britain, having voted for the winning party in each election for the duration of its existence. 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.
It 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 himself originated from east London (Plaistow), and later moved to the safer seat of Southend West. New Labour sought to take seats exactly like this one, which were crucial in ensuring they won the 1997 general election by a landslide. Labour took the seat in 1997 and 2001 with a large majority, and in 2005 with a reduced majority.
Both the successor seats that replaced Basildon in 2010 were considered to be much less favourable to Labour than the old Basildon seat, ending Basildon's bellwether status.
Boundaries and boundary changes DatesLocal authorityMapsWards1974–1983Borough of BasildonThe Borough of Basildon1983–1997Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, Pitsea East, Pitsea West, and Vange.1997–2010Borough of BasildonBorough of ThurrockBasildon wards of Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, and VangeThurrock wards of Corringham and Fobbing, Orsett, Stanford-le-Hope, and The Homesteads.
1974–1983 Formed from the majority of the abolished constituency of Billericay, comprising the former Urban District thereof, which had been reconstituted as the Urban District of Basildon.
1983–1997 Northern parts, including Billericay and Wickford transferred to the re-established constituency of Billericay.
1997–2010 Major realignment of boundaries with Billericay; Pitsea was transferred to Billericay in exchange for the northern part of the Borough of Thurrock.
Post 2010 Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England made radical changes to all parliamentary constituencies in the county for the 2010 general election, and the Basildon constituency was divided. The majority of the seat formed the basis of the new South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, while the wards around central Basildon were merged with the majority of the former Billericay constituency to form a new seat called Basildon and Billericay.
Members of Parliament ElectionMemberPartyNotes February 1974 Eric Moonman Labour 1979 Harvey Proctor Conservative Contested Billericay following redistribution 1983 David Amess Conservative Contested Southend West following redistribution 1997 Angela Smith Labour Co-opContested South Basildon and East Thurrock following redistribution 2010 constituency abolished: see South Basildon and East Thurrock and Basildon and Billericay
Elections Elections in the 1970s 1970 notional result Party Vote % Labour 32,200 52.2 Conservative 29,500 47.8Turnout61,70074.1Electorate83,276
1979 notional result Party Vote % Labour 24,552 52.6 Conservative 16,389 35.1 Liberal 5,267 11.3 Others 500 1.1Turnout46,708Electorate Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1990s
1992 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 27,291 45.1 Labour 24,645 40.7 Liberal Democrats 8,599 14.2Turnout60,53579.4Electorate76,236
Elections in the 2000s
See also Parliamentary constituencies in Essex
Notes and references
External links Basildon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK