West Chelmsford (UK Parliament constituency)

West Chelmsford was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1997 to 2010 it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

West Chelmsford
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of West Chelmsford in Essex for the 2005 general election
Location of Essex within England
County	Essex
Major settlements	Chelmsford
1997–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Chelmsford
Created from	Chelmsford

History

This seat was created for the 1997 general election from parts of the abolished Chelmsford and part of the Braintree constituency. It was abolished at the next redistribution which came into effect for the 2010 general election, when the Chelmsford constituency was re-established.

It was a safe Conservative seat throughout its existence.

Boundaries

The Borough of Chelmsford wards of All Saints, Boreham, Broomfield, Pleshey and Great Waltham, Cathedral, Chignall, Good Easter, Mashbury, Highwood and Roxwell, Goat Hall, Great and Little Leighs and Little Waltham, Margaretting and Stock, Moulsham Lodge, Old Moulsham, Patching Hall, St. Andrews, Springfield North, Springfield South, The Lawns, Waterhouse Farm and Writtle.[1]

The seat took in northern and western parts of the abolished constituency of Chelmsford including by far the majority of the city itself. It also included rural areas extending as far north as Great Leighs, the Walthams and Good Easter, which had previously been part of the Braintree constituency.

At the 2010 general election, a newly re-created Chelmsford constituency (now a Borough Constituency) succeeded this seat. Rural wards from this constituency mainly joined the Saffron Walden constituency, with a small area around Margaretting becoming part of the Maldon constituency.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1997	Simon Burns	Conservative
	2010	Constituency abolished: see Chelmsford and Saffron Walden

Elections

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: West Chelmsford[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Burns	23,781	40.6
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Bracken	17,090	29.2
	Labour	Roy Chad	15,463	26.4
	Referendum	Terence Smith	1,536	2.6
	Green	George Rumens	411	0.7
	UKIP	Martin Levin	323	0.6
Majority			6,691	11.4
Turnout			58,577	76.8
	Conservative win (new seat)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: West Chelmsford[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Burns	20,446	42.5	+1.9
	Labour	Adrian Longden	14,185	29.5	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Robinson	11,197	23.3	−5.9
	Green	Ms. Eleanor Burgess	837	1.7	+1.0
	UKIP	Ken Wedon	693	1.4	+0.8
	Legalise Cannabis	Herb Philbin	442	0.9	New
Majority			6,261	13.0	+1.6
Turnout			48,143	61.5	−15.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 2005: West Chelmsford[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Burns	22,946	44.9	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Robinson	13,326	26.1	+2.8
	Labour	Russell Kennedy	13,236	25.9	−3.6
	UKIP	Ken Wedon	1,544	3.0	+1.6
Majority			9,620	18.8	+5.8
Turnout			51,052	61.9	+0.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.2

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Essex

Notes and references

1. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
3. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
4. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
5. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.