Rochford (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochford was a County Constituency in Essex, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Rochford
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Rochford, showing boundaries used from 1983-1997
County	Essex
1983–1997
Seats	One
Created from	Chelmsford, Maldon, South East Essex, Southend East
Replaced by	Rayleigh, Rochford and Southend East, Maldon and Chelmsford East

History

The seat was created for the 1983 general election from parts of the Maldon, Chelmsford and abolished South East Essex constituencies. It was abolished at the next redistribution which came into effect for the 1997 general election, when it was largely replaced by the new constituency of Rayleigh, with the town of Rochford itself being included in the new constituency of Rochford and Southend East.

It was held by Michael Clark for the Conservatives throughout its existence.

Boundaries

• The District of Rochford; and
• The Borough of Chelmsford wards of Ramsden Heath and Downham, Rettendon and South Hanningfield, Runwell, Woodham Ferrers North, and Woodham Ferrers South.^[1]

The District of Rochford comprised the former Rural District of Rochford, which had been part of the Maldon constituency, and the former Urban District of Rayleigh, which had been part of the abolished South East Essex constituency. The Borough of Chelmsford wards had previously been in the Chelmsford constituency.

On abolition in 1997, the bulk of the constituency formed the new constituency of Rayleigh, with Rochford and Great Wakering being included in the new constituency of Rochford and Southend East.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1983	Michael Clark	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Rayleigh, Rochford and Southend East & Maldon and Chelmsford East

Elections

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Rochford^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Clark	29,495	57.84	−3.28
	Liberal	Richard Boyd	16,393	32.15	+14.11
	Labour	Hyman Witzer	5,105	10.01	−10.83
Majority			13,102	25.69
Turnout			50,993	73.49
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1987: Rochford^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Clark	35,872	60.4	+2.6
	Liberal	Philip Young	16,178	27.3	−4.8
	Labour	David Weir	7,308	12.3	+2.3
Majority			19,694	33.1	+7.4
Turnout			59,358	78.0	+4.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Rochford^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Clark	38,967	61.1	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Harris	12,931	20.3	−7.0
	Labour	Donald Quinn	10,537	16.5	+4.2
	Liberal	Linda Farmer	1,362	2.1	New
Majority			26,036	40.8	+7.7
Turnout			63,797	83.0	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

Notes and references

1. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
3. "'Rochford', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
4. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

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