Thurrock (UK Parliament constituency)

Thurrock
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Thurrock in the East of England
County	Essex
Electorate	73,347 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Grays, Tilbury, South Ockendon and Chafford
Current constituency
Created	1945
Member of Parliament	Jen Craft (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	South East Essex

Thurrock is a constituency ^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jen Craft of the Labour Party. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

This industrial Essex seat, east of London, includes the towns of Grays, Tilbury and Purfleet, and 18 miles of the north bank of the Thames.

Historically known for quarrying and heavy industry, it is now a retail destination thanks to the Lakeside Shopping Centre. Retail and distribution are big employers, while Tilbury Power Station has closed and Coryton oil refinery is being redeveloped as a business park. Tilbury is also London's major port, handling millions of tonnes of cargo a year and is a major cruise ship terminal.

Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 higher than the national average of 3.8%, at 4.8% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian . The regional average for the Eastern England region was considerably lower, at 3.2% of the population. ^[2]

History

History of boundaries

The seat was created from South East Essex as a result of the interim redistribution carried out for the 1945 general election. It remained unchanged until the redistribution following the reorganisation of local authorities under the Local Government Act 1972 (not coming into force until the 1983 general election), when it lost northern parts to the new constituency of Billericay. There was a small change for the 2010 general election, when East Tilbury was included in the new constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock.

History of results

Thurrock was for 38 years from its creation in 1945 a large-majority Labour seat in parliamentary elections. The post-Falklands War election in 1983 gave a majority of less than 4% of the vote to a recently-split Labour Party (the breakaway faction, the SDP, came third). A Conservative gained Thurrock in 1987 with a small majority. In 1992, it was regained by a Labour candidate, Andrew MacKinlay. During his tenure as MP, MacKinlay was criticised for his questioning technique used on weapons expert Dr. David Kelly.

In the 2010 general election, a Conservative gained the seat, with Jackie Doyle-Price being elected as the MP on a majority of 92 votes, the third most marginal in that election. ^[3] The 2015 result gave the seat the 8th most marginal majority of the Conservative Party's 331 seats by percentage of majority. ^[4] In that 2015 election fewer than 1,000 votes separated the top three parties: Conservative, Labour and UKIP. The seat has had bellwether outcome status since 1997.

In 2017, the seat was number 1 on UKIP's 2017 target list, the party only needing a 0.98% swing to win the seat from third place if the previous result were repeated. The constituency was also at number 7 on Labour's target list, with a 0.54% swing needed for their candidate to win the seat. In the event, the swing to Labour was around 0.2% and Doyle-Price held the seat by a mere 345 votes, making it the 26th-closest nationally (of 650 seats). ^[5] This was also the third consecutive occasion that Thurrock had been held or won very narrowly. At the 2019 general election, Doyle-Price's vote share increased by 19.1%, the largest increase in vote share achieved by any Conservative candidate in the United Kingdom at that election, and her majority rose to 11,482 votes. ^[6]

At the 2024 general election, the seat was gained by Labour's Jen Craft by a comfortable majority of over 17%, with the incumbent Conservative Doyle-Price placing third behind Reform UK.

Prominent frontbenchers

Dr Oonagh McDonald was Opposition Spokesman on Defence from 1981 to 1983, and then Opposition Spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs from 1983 to 1987.

Boundaries and boundary changes

Thurrock in Essex, showing boundaries used from 1945 to 1983.

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1945–1983

• The Urban District of Thurrock. ^[7]

The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1944 set up Boundaries Commissions to carry out periodic reviews of the distribution of parliamentary constituencies. It also authorised an initial review to subdivide abnormally large constituencies in time for the 1945 election. ^[8] This was implemented by the Redistribution of Seats Order 1945 under which South East Essex was divided into two constituencies. As a consequence, the new Thurrock Division of Essex was formed, comprising the Urban District of Thurrock (created largely from amalgamating the Urban Districts of Grays Thurrock and Tilbury and the Rural District of Orsett).

1983–2010

• The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, East Tilbury, Grays Thurrock North, Grays Thurrock Town, Little Thurrock, Ockendon, Stifford, Tilbury, and West Thurrock. ^{[9] [10]}

Northern areas transferred to the re-established constituency of Billericay.

2010–2024

• The Borough of Thurrock wards of Aveley and Uplands, Belhus, Chadwell St Mary, Chafford and North Stifford, Grays Riverside, Grays Thurrock, Little Thurrock Blackshots, Little Thurrock Rectory, Ockendon, South Chafford, Stifford Clays, Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park, Tilbury St Chads, West Thurrock, and South Stifford. ^[11]

Following a redistribution of local authority wards, East Tilbury was transferred to the new constituency of South Basildon and East Thurrock.

Current

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was reduced to meet the electorate size requirements, with the transfer to South Basildon and East Thurrock of the Chadwell St Mary ward. ^[12]

Members of Parliament

South East Essex prior to 1945

Election		Member [13]	Party
	1945	Leslie Solley	Labour
	1949		Labour Independent Group
	1950	Hugh Delargy	Labour
	1976 by-election	Oonagh McDonald	Labour
	1987	Tim Janman	Conservative
	1992	Andrew MacKinlay	Labour
	2010	Jackie Doyle-Price	Conservative
	2024	Jen Craft	Labour

Elections

Thurrock election results

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Thurrock ^{[14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jen Craft	16,050	42.7
	Reform UK	Sophie Preston-Hall	9,576	25.5
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	8,009	21.3
	Green	Eugene McCarthy	1,632	4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Bukola	1,157	3.1
	Workers Party	Yousaff Khan	691	1.8
	Independent	Raj Nimal	443	1.2
Majority			6,474	17.2
Turnout			37,675	51.8
	Labour win (new boundaries)

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Thurrock ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	27,795	58.6	+19.1
	Labour	John Kent	16,313	34.4	−4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Stewart Stone	1,510	3.2	+1.6
	Independent	James Woollard	1,042	2.2	N/A
	Green	Ben Harvey	807	1.7	N/A
Majority			11,482	24.2	+23.5
Turnout			47,467	59.6	−4.8
Registered electors			79,655
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.8

General election 2017: Thurrock ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	19,880	39.5	+5.8
	Labour	John Kent	19,535	38.8	+6.2
	UKIP	Tim Aker	10,112	20.1	−11.6
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin McNamara	798	1.6	+0.3
Majority			345	0.7	−0.4
Turnout			50,325	64.4	+0.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.2

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Thurrock

General election 2015: Thurrock ^{[18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	16,692	33.7	−3.1
	Labour	Polly Billington [20]	16,156	32.6	−4.0
	UKIP	Tim Aker [21]	15,718	31.7	+24.3
	Liberal Democrats	Rhodri Jamieson-Ball	644	1.3	−9.4
	CISTA	Jamie Barnes	244	0.5	N/A
	Independent	Daniel Munyambu	79	0.2	N/A
	All People's Party	Aba Kristilolu	31	0.1	N/A
Majority			536	1.1	+0.9
Turnout			49,564	63.9	+4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 2010: Thurrock ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jackie Doyle-Price	16,869	36.8	+3.6
	Labour	Carl Morris	16,777	36.6	−9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Carys Davis	4,901	10.7	−0.4
	BNP	Emma Colgate	3,618	7.9	+2.1
	UKIP	Clive Broad	3,390	7.4	+4.0
	CPA	Arinola Araba	267	0.6	N/A
Majority			92	0.2	N/A
Turnout			45,822	59.1	+4.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.6

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Thurrock ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew MacKinlay	20,636	47.2	−9.3
	Conservative	Garry Hague	14,261	32.6	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Earnshaw Palmer	4,770	10.9	+0.6
	BNP	Nick Geri	2,526	5.8	N/A
	UKIP	Carol Jackson	1,499	3.4	0.0
Majority			6,375	14.6	−11.9
Turnout			43,692	54.9	+5.9
	Labour hold		Swing	−6.1

General election 2001: Thurrock ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew MacKinlay	21,121	56.5	−6.8
	Conservative	Mike Penning	11,124	29.8	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Lathan	3,846	10.3	+2.2
	UKIP	Christopher Sheppard	1,271	3.4	+1.6
Majority			9,997	26.7	−9.8
Turnout			37,362	49.0	−16.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Thurrock ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew MacKinlay	29,896	63.3	+17.4
	Conservative	Andrew Rosindell	12,640	26.8	−16.9
	Liberal Democrats	Joe White	3,843	8.1	−1.4
	UKIP	Peter Compobassi	833	1.8	N/A
Majority			17,256	36.5	+34.3
Turnout			47,212	65.6	−12.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+17.2

General election 1992: Thurrock ^{[27] [28]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew MacKinlay	24,791	45.9	+4.9
	Conservative	Tim Janman	23,619	43.7	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Alan J. Banton	5,145	9.5	−7.0
	Pensioners' Party	Charles Rogers	391	0.7	N/A
	Anti-Federalist League	Peter Compobassi	117	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,172	2.2	N/A
Turnout			54,063	78.1	+6.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Thurrock ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tim Janman	20,527	42.5	+7.1
	Labour	Oonagh McDonald	19,837	41.0	+1.8
	SDP	Donald Benson	7,970	16.5	−5.2
Majority			690	1.5	N/A
Turnout			48,334	71.5	+3.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1983: Thurrock ^{[30] [31]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Oonagh McDonald	17,600	39.2	−9.3
	Conservative	Julie Tallon	15,878	35.4	−3.8
	SDP	Donald Benson	9,761	21.7	N/A
	Independent	M Bibby	1,200	2.7	N/A
	BNP	R Sinclair	252	0.6	N/A
	Communist	J Paul	199	0.4	N/A
Majority			1,722	3.8	−5.5
Turnout			44,891	67.7	−7.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Thurrock ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Oonagh McDonald	33,449	48.55
	Conservative	Tony Baldry	27,030	39.24
	Liberal	M Crowson	6,445	9.36
	National Front	E Burdett	1,358	1.97	N/A
	Independent	B Chattaway	365	0.53	N/A
	Workers Revolutionary	M Daly	242	0.35	N/A
Majority			6,419	9.31
Turnout			68,884	75.11
	Labour hold		Swing

1976 by-election: Thurrock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Oonagh McDonald	22,191	45.27	−10.30
	Conservative	Percy Lomax	17,352	35.39	+10.95
	Liberal	Anthony Charlton	5,977	12.19	−7.80
	National Front	John Roberts	3,255	6.64	N/A
	English National	Frank Hansford-Miller	187	0.38	N/A
	World Grid Sunshine Room Party	Peter Bishop	72	0.15	N/A
Majority			4,839	9.88
Turnout			49,034
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Thurrock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	34,066	55.57
	Conservative	P Lomax	14,986	24.44
	Liberal	A Charlton	12,255	19.99
Majority			19,080	31.13
Turnout			61,307	68.54
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Thurrock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	36,217	52.15
	Conservative	Graham Bright	17,699	25.48
	Liberal	Kaye Fleetwood	15,534	22.37
Majority			18,518	26.67
Turnout			69,450	78.41
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: Thurrock Electorate 84,337

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	30,874	55.75
	Conservative	Graham Bright	19,486	35.18
	Liberal	Kaye Fleetwood	5,024	9.07
Majority			11,388	20.57
Turnout			55,384	65.67
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Thurrock Electorate 72,502

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	31,998	60.67
	Conservative	Cedric J Hodgson	14,094	26.72
	Liberal	James C Moran	6,648	12.61
Majority			17,904	33.95
Turnout			52,740	72.74
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Thurrock Electorate 71,519

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	30,372	57.22
	Conservative	Robert McCrindle	14,615	27.53
	Liberal	A Noel H Blackburn	8,094	15.25	N/A
Majority			15,757	29.69
Turnout			53,081	74.22
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Thurrock Electorate 67,054

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	32,270	61.52
	Conservative	William E McNamara	20,188	38.48
Majority			12,082	23.04
Turnout			52,458	78.23
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Thurrock Electorate 63,030

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	31,375	66.16
	Conservative	Gerald A Petty	16,046	33.84
Majority			15,329	32.32
Turnout			47,421	75.24
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Thurrock Electorate 53,157

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	28,851	65.55
	Conservative	Godfrey Lagden	15,166	34.45
Majority			13,685	31.10
Turnout			44,017	82.81
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Thurrock Electorate 50,962

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Delargy	22,893	52.68
	Conservative	Airey Neave	13,306	30.62
	Labour Independent Group	Leslie Solley	4,250	9.78	N/A
	Liberal	William Harold Henry Siddons	3,010	6.93	N/A
Majority			9,587	22.06
Turnout			43,459	85.28
	Labour hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General election 1945: Thurrock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Leslie Solley	23,171	70.0
	Conservative	Thomas Adam	9,909	30.0
Majority			13,262	40.0
Turnout			33,080	76.9
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the East of England (region)

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. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
3. The 2010 marginality of the result placed the seat immediately behind the majorities of Dan Byles (Con), 54 votes and Michelle Gildernew (SF), 2 votes
4. "Conservative Members of Parliament 2015". UK Political.info. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
5. Library, House of Commons (23 June 2017). "GE2017: Marginal seats and turnout". Commons Library.
6. The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. 2020. pp. 53 & 360. ISBN   978-0-00-839258-1.
7. Craig, Fred W. S. (1972). Boundaries of parliamentary constituencies 1885-1972;. Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN   0900178094. OCLC   539011.
8. Gay, Oonagh (28 July 2010). "The Rules for the Redistribution of Seats- history and reform". House of CommonsLibrary.
9. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
10. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
11. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
12. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule I Part 2 Eastern region.
13. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
14. "Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). Thurrock Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
15. "Full General Election results for Essex - every constituency result". ITV X. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
16. "Thurrock Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
17. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL AND SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS Election of a Member of Parliament for Thurrock" (PDF). Thurrock Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
18. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
19. "Thurrock". bbc.co.uk.
20. "The Labour Party". labour.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013.
21. "Tim Aker announced as UKIP candidate for Thurrock". Your Thurrock. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
22. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
23. "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Thurrock". BBC News.
24. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
25. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
27. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. "UK General Election results April 1992". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
29. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
30. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
31. "UK General Election results: June 1983 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. 12 October 2022.
32. "UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. 12 October 2022.

External links

• Thurrock UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Thurrock UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Thurrock UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°29′N0°19′E / 51.48°N 0.32°E / 51.48; 0.32