South Colchester and Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)

South Colchester and Maldon was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

South Colchester and Maldon
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
South Colchester and Maldon, showing boundaries used from 1983-1997
County	Essex
1983–1997
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex, Colchester[1]
Created from	Colchester and Maldon[1]

History

This seat was created for the 1983 general election from parts of the abolished Colchester constituency and parts of the Maldon constituency. It was abolished at the next redistribution which came into effect for the 1997 general election, when Colchester was re-established as a borough constituency and new county constituencies of Maldon and East Chelmsford and North Essex were created.

It was a safe Conservative seat throughout its existence.

Boundaries

The Borough of Colchester wards of Berechurch, Birch-Messing, East Donyland, Harbour, New Town, Prettygate, Pyefleet, Shrub End, Tiptree, West Mersea, and Winstree, and the District of Maldon.[2]

The constituency was formed from the bulk of the abolished Maldon constituency (the District of Maldon) and southern parts of the Borough of Colchester (including parts of the town of Colchester) which were previously part of the abolished county constituency of Colchester.

The seat was abolished in 1997, with the parts of the town being included in the re-established constituency of Colchester and remaining areas of the Borough of Colchester being included in the new constituency of North Essex, a seat surrounding Colchester. The District of Maldon formed the basis of the new constituency of Maldon and East Chelmsford.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [3]	Party
	1983	John Wakeham	Conservative
	1992	John Whittingdale	Conservative
	1997	constituency abolished: see Maldon and East Chelmsford, North Essex and Colchester

Elections

General election 1983: Colchester South and Maldon[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Wakeham	31,296	53.6	−1.4
	SDP	J W Stevens	19,131	32.8	+17.4
	Labour	H J Barnard	7,932	13.6	−16.0
Majority			12,165	20.8	-4.6
Turnout			58,359	73.3	−3.8
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election 1987: South Colchester and Maldon[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Wakeham	34,894	54.9	+1.3
	SDP	John Stevens	19,411	30.6	−2.2
	Labour	Sally Bigwood	9,229	14.5	+0.9
Majority			15,483	24.4	+3.6
Turnout			63,534	76.2	+2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.8

General election 1992: South Colchester and Maldon[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	John Whittingdale	37,548	54.8	−0.1
	Liberal Democrats	I L Thorn	15,727	23.0	−7.6
	Labour	C A Pearson	14,158	20.7	+6.2
	Green	M Patterson	1,028	1.5	+1.5
Majority			21,821	31.9	+7.5
Turnout			68,461	79.2	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.8

1979 Prediction for Colchester South and Maldon boundaries

General election 1979: South Colchester and Maldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative		33,163	55.0
	Labour		17,863	29.6
	Liberal		9,262	15.4
Majority			15,300	25.4
Turnout			60,287	77.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Notes and references

1. "'Colchester South and Maldon', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
2. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1983". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 5)
4. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
5. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
6. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
7. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Boundary changes

Preceded by Colchester	UK Parliament constituency 1983–1997	Succeeded by North Essex
Preceded by Maldon	UK Parliament constituency 1983–1997	Succeeded by Maldon and East Chelmsford