Rayleigh and Wickford

Rayleigh and Wickford
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries since 2024
Map of constituency
Location within the East of England
CountyEssex
Electorate76,422 (March 2020)[1]
Major settlementsHawkwell, Hockley, Rayleigh and Wickford
Current constituency
Created2010
Member of ParliamentMark Francois (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created fromRayleigh, Billericay

Rayleigh and Wickford is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Mark Francois, a Conservative.[n 2] Francois had previously been MP for the predecessor constituency of Rayleigh from 2001 to 2010.

Constituency profile

Rayleigh Windmill with the suburbs of Rayleigh in the background

Rayleigh and Wickford is a constituency in Essex in the East of England, covering parts of the Basildon and Rochford local government districts. It is named after its two main towns, Rayleigh and Wickford, of which Rayleigh is the largest with a population of around 34,000.[2] Other settlements include the villages of Hullbridge, Hockley and Hawkwell and the northern suburbs of the town of Rochford.

This constituency covers the towns and villages lying close to the larger settlements of Southend-on-Sea and Basildon. Rayleigh is a historic market town that has undergone suburban development in the late 20th century, connecting it to the city of Southend. Wickford was traditionally an agricultural village until the arrival of the Great Eastern Railway in 1889. The constituency is mostly affluent, especially in Hockley, Hawkwell and the suburbs of Rayleigh, which fall within the top 10% least-deprived areas in England.[3] Most residents live in detached or semi-detached homes with little social housing,[4] and house prices are generally higher than the regional and UK averages.[5]

Rayleigh and Wickford has an above-average retired population and a low proportion of young adults.[6] Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is around half the UK-wide figure.[5][7] Residents generally have low levels of education and a high proportion work in the business administration and construction sectors.[5][8] The percentage claiming unemployment benefits is low.[7] White people made up 95% of the population at the 2021 census.

At the local district council level, most of Rayleigh and the villages to its east are represented by Liberal Democrats and Wickford by localists. However, at the more recent district council and county council elections in 2026, all seats in the constituency were won by Reform UK. Voters in Rayleigh and Wickford strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; an estimated 66% voted in favour of Brexit compared to the UK-wide figure of 52%.[5]

History

The seat was created for the 2010 general election following a review of the Parliamentary representation of Essex by the Boundary Commission for England. It was formed from the majority of the abolished constituency of Rayleigh, together with the town of Wickford, previously in the abolished constituency of Billericay.

Boundaries

2010–2024

  • The Borough of Basildon wards of Wickford Castledon, Wickford North, and Wickford Park
  • The District of Rochford wards of Ashingdon and Canewdon, Downhall and Rawreth, Grange, Hawkwell North, Hawkwell South, Hawkwell West, Hockley Central, Hockley North, Hockley West, Hullbridge, Lodge, Rayleigh Central, Sweyne Park, Trinity, Wheatley and Whitehouse[9]

Current

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 Borough of Basildon wards of: Wickford Castledon; Wickford North; Wickford Park.1
  • The District of Rochford wards of: Downhall & Rawreth; Hawkwell East; Hawkwell West; Hockley; Hockley & Ashingdon; Hullbridge; Lodge; Sweyne Park & Grange; Trinity; Wheatley.[10]

Minor loss of sparsely populated area in the east of the constituency to the newly named Southend East and Rochford seat.

1 Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2024,[11] the contents in the Borough of Basildon now comprise the Wickford North and Wickford Park wards and the part of the Castledon & Crouch ward situated in the civil parish of Wickford.

Members of Parliament

Rayleigh and Billericay prior to 2010

ElectionMember[12] Party
2010 Mark Francois Conservative

Elections

Election results 2010–2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Rayleigh and Wickford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Francois 17,756 37.0 −35.9
Reform Grant Randall 12,135 25.3 New
Labour James Hedges 11,823 24.6 +8.9
Liberal Democrats Stewart Mott 4,068 8.5 +0.8
Green Christopher Taylor 2,196 4.6 +0.9
Majority 5,621 11.7 −45.6
Turnout 47,978 62.7 −6.6
Registered electors 76,576
Conservative hold Swing −30.6

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result[13]
Party Vote %
Conservative38,65272.9
Labour8,30415.7
Liberal Democrats4,0817.7
Green1,9603.7
Turnout 52,997 69.3
Electorate 76,422
General election 2019: Rayleigh and Wickford[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Francois 39,864 72.6 +5.9
Labour David Flack 8,864 16.1 −8.2
Liberal Democrats Ron Tindall 4,171 7.6 +4.8
Green Paul Thorogood 2,002 3.6 +1.7
Majority 31,000 56.5 +14.1
Turnout 54,901 69.5 −0.9
Conservative hold Swing +7.0
General election 2017: Rayleigh and Wickford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Francois 36,914 66.7 +12.0
Labour Mark Daniels 13,464 24.3 +11.7
UKIP Peter Smith 2,326 4.2 −18.1
Liberal Democrats Ron Tindall 1,557 2.8 −0.2
Green Paul Hill 1,062 1.9 −1.0
Majority 23,450 42.4 +10.0
Turnout 55,323 70.4 +2.1
Conservative hold Swing +0.2
General election 2015: Rayleigh and Wickford[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Francois 29,088 54.7 −3.1
UKIP John Hayter[16] 11,858 22.3 +18.1
Labour David Hough 6,705 12.6 −1.9
Independent Linda Kendall[17] 2,418 4.5 New
Liberal Democrats Mike Pitt[18] 1,622 3.0 −12.1
Green Sarah Yapp[19] 1,529 2.9 New
Majority 17,230 32.4 −10.3
Turnout 53,220 68.3 +2.4
Conservative hold Swing −10.6
General election 2010: Rayleigh and Wickford[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Francois* 30,257 57.8 +3.9
Liberal Democrats Susan Gaszczak 7,919 15.1 −0.3
Labour Michael Le Surf 7,577 14.5 −12.0
English Democrat John Hayter 2,219 4.2 New
UKIP Tino Callaghan 2,211 4.2 +0.1
BNP Tony Evennett 2,160 4.1 New
Majority 22,338 42.7 +15.3
Turnout 52,343 69.1
Conservative hold Swing +8.0
* Served as an MP in the 2005–2010 Parliament

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

  1. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  2. ↑ "Rayleigh". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Constituency data: Deprivation in England". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Accommodation type - Census Maps, ONS". ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Seat Details - Rayleigh and Wickford". electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Constituency data: Population, by age". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Constituency dashboard". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Constituency data: businesses and industries". commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
  11. ↑ LGBCE. "Basildon | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 1)
  13. ↑ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Rayleigh & Wickford Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  15. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Election Campaign". UKIP Rayleigh and Wickford. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Nizinskyj, Paul (10 March 2015). "Campaigner Linda wants to be an MP". Echo. Southend.
  18. ↑ "Candidates (PPCs) for Rayleigh and Wickford". Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "Candidates". Eastern Green Party. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Rayleigh & Wickford". news.bbc.co.uk.

51°36′N 0°37′E / 51.6°N 0.61°E / 51.6; 0.61

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