BBC Profile:
A year after losing his seat in Glasgow, Conservative Sir Teddy Taylor bounced back with a win in a by-election at Southend East in 1979, replacing former MP Sir Stephen McAdden. Sir Teddy stood down in 2005, after being attacked and knocked to the ground in the street in Southend.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Sir Teddy recorded five figure majorities. This was cut to 4,225 in 1997, but increased again to 7,034 in 2001.

In 2005 the Conservatives were represented by James Duddridge, a former student of government at Essex University's Colchester campus who worked as a banker in Africa before co-founding the market research firm YouGov. He won a majority of over 5,000 votes, despite a 2.4% swing to Labour.

Boundary changes for the next general election are very minor, with the loss of only two partial wards to neighbouring seats. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This constituency combines part of the residential district of Rochford with the eastern part of the Essex seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, including the town centre.

Also included is Great Wakering, along with the sparsely populated coastal marshland area between the river Roach and the mouth of the Thames.

There are excellent rail connections with London Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street, and Southend has its own airport. Many residents commute to London for work

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BBC Profile:
A year after losing his seat in Glasgow, Conservative Sir Teddy Taylor bounced back with a win in a by-election at Southend East in 1979, replacing former MP Sir Stephen McAdden. Sir Teddy stood down in 2005, after being attacked and knocked to the ground in the street in Southend.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Sir Teddy recorded five figure majorities. This was cut to 4,225 in 1997, but increased again to 7,034 in 2001.

In 2005 the Conservatives were represented by James Duddridge, a former student of government at Essex University's Colchester campus who worked as a banker in Africa before co-founding the market research firm YouGov. He won a majority of over 5,000 votes, despite a 2.4% swing to Labour.

Boundary changes for the next general election are very minor, with the loss of only two partial wards to neighbouring seats. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This constituency combines part of the residential district of Rochford with the eastern part of the Essex seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, including the town centre.

Also included is Great Wakering, along with the sparsely populated coastal marshland area between the river Roach and the mouth of the Thames.

There are excellent rail connections with London Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street, and Southend has its own airport. Many residents commute to London for work but the main employers in the area are Customs and Excise, the leisure industry and Keymed, which produces medical and industrial equipment.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
C 17,449 (45.38%)
Lab 12,142 (31.58%)
LD 5,668 (14.74%)
UKIP 1,863 (4.85%)
Green 1,328 (3.45%)

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