Southend East and Rochford is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Bayo Alaba, a member of the Labour Party who sits as an independent after being suspended in August 2026.
Prior to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, coming into effect at the 2024 general election, the constituency was known as Rochford and Southend East.
Constituency profile
Southend East and Rochford is a constituency in Essex in the East of England. It covers the central and eastern areas of the city of Southend-on-Sea, including Southchurch and the town of Shoeburyness, as well as Rochford town centre and the village of Great Wakering.
Southend is a seaside resort city. It was a small fishing village until the early 19th century when it was developed for tourism. The city is home to Southend Pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world. Shoeburyness was a separate coastal town that was absorbed into Southend's suburban expansion in the 1930s. Like many of England's east coast settlements, this area suffered from the late-20th-century decline in domestic tourism. Southend city centre is highly-deprived with most residents living in dense flats or shared homes. There is also some deprivation in Rochford and Shoeburyness whilst Southchurch is an affluent suburban area. House prices across the constituency are generally similar to the regional and UK averages.
Residents of Southend East and Rochford have a similar age profile to the rest of the country. They have below-average levels of income and homeownership, and the child poverty rate is in line with the overall UK figure. Residents have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the retail and tourism sectors. The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is high. White people made up 88% of the population at the 2021 census.
At the local council level, Southend city centre is represented by the Labour Party whilst the rest of the constituency elected Conservative and Reform UK councillors. Voters in Southend East and Rochford strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 62% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.
History This seat was created for the 1997 general election primarily from the abolished constituency of Southend East, with the addition of Rochford and Great Wakering, which were previously in the abolished Rochford constituency.
It was held by the Conservatives since its formation until 2024. The 2017 election saw a 5% swing to Labour, cutting Duddridge's majority by 3,928 votes. In the 2019 election however, a 7.4% swing from Labour to the Conservatives gave Duddridge a 12,286 majority; his largest ever majority under the seat's current boundaries.
At the 2024 election, Duddridge stood down and the constituency elected Bayo Alaba as its first Labour MP on a swing of 18.9%.
Boundaries
Historic (Rochford and Southend East)
1997–2010 The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Milton, St Luke's, Shoebury, Southchurch, Thorpe, and Victoria; and The District of Rochford wards of Barling and Sutton, Foulness and Great Wakering East, Great Wakering Central, Great Wakering West, Rochford Eastwood, Rochford Roche, and Rochford St Andrews.
2010–2024
The Borough of Southend-on-Sea wards of Kursaal, Milton, St Luke's, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe, Victoria, and West Shoebury; and The District of Rochford wards of Barling and Sutton, Foulness and Great Wakering, and Rochford.
Small reduction in electorate due to redistribution of local authority wards.
Current (Southend East and Rochford)
Further to the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
The District of Rochford wards of: Foulness & The Wakerings; Roche North & Rural; Roche South.
The City of Southend-on-Sea wards of: Kursaal; Milton; Shoeburyness; Southchurch; Thorpe; Victoria; West Shoebury.
St Luke's ward was transferred to the newly named constituency of Southend West and Leigh. Minor gain of sparsely populated area to the north of the constituency from Rayleigh and Wickford.
The constituency covers the town of Rochford and the town centre, main seafront and eastern part of Southend-on-Sea, such as Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness.
Members of Parliament
Southend East and Rochford prior to 1997
ElectionMemberParty 1997 Sir Teddy Taylor Conservative 2005 Sir James Duddridge Conservative 2024Bayo Alaba Labour 2026 Independent
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
2019 notional result Party Vote % Conservative 25,463 59.0 Labour 13,521 31.3 Liberal Democrats 2,775 6.4 Others 1,356 3.1 Green 42 0.1Turnout43,15761.6Electorate70,094
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 1990s
See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)
Notes
References
External links Rochford and Southend East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK Rochford and Southend East UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK Southend East and Rochford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK