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2022 Southend West by-election

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2022 Southend West by-election
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Southend West constituency
Location of Southend West within Essex
Incumbent MP

Sir David Amess
Conservative



A by-election is set to be held on 3 February 2022[1] in the parliamentary constituency of Southend West following the killing of David Amess on 15 October 2021. Amess was the MP for the constituency since 1997, in addition to having previously represented the seat of Basildon from 1983 to 1997.

Background

Southend-on-Sea is the largest settlement in the constituency.
See also: Killing of David Amess

On 15 October 2021, David Amess, who had been the MP for the Southend West constituency for more than 20 years, was stabbed at a constituency surgery and died soon after at the scene.[2][3][4] Amess was first elected to represent the seat in 1997.[5] His death left the seat vacant, triggering the by-election.[5] His funeral was held on 22 November 2021.[6] The writ setting the date of the by-election was moved on 5 January 2022, with the date of the election being set for 3 February.[7]

The constituency is one of two covering Southend-on-Sea in Essex. The other seat is Rochford and Southend East. Other towns in the seat include Leigh-on-Sea and Westcliff-on-Sea. It voted leave by a margin of 56 per cent in the 2016 EU referendum.[8]

Southend West has elected Conservative MPs since it was created in 1950.[9] Prior to Amess, the seat had only had two other MPs: Henry Channon (1950–1958), and his son Paul Channon (1959–1997), who served in the government of Margaret Thatcher as Trade and Industry secretary and Transport secretary.[10][11]

Candidates

In the days after the killing of Amess, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform UK each stated they would not field a candidate in opposition to the Conservative nominee.[12][13][14] This follows the precedent set by the Conservatives and other major parties in the 2016 Batley and Spen by-election following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.[15] Patrick Maguire writing in The Times was critical of this decision, citing the 1990 Eastbourne by-election following the assassination of the constituency's MP by the IRA, which was contested by all the major parties and saw the seat change hands.[16]

The Southend West Conservative Association said they wanted a local person selected to be the candidate.[17] The party said they were waiting until after Amess' funeral on 22 November to select their candidate.[17] Applications were opened on 25 November.[18] The following were reported as applying: Gavin Chambers, Epping Forest District councillor; Anna Firth; Seena Shah; Andrew Sheldon, leader of Castle Point Borough Council; Tamkeen Shaikh, previously stood for Southend Borough Council, and for Barking in the 2019 General Election; Kevin Buck, Southend councillor; James Courtenay, Southend councillor; Alex Bright, Southend councillor; Katie Channon, the daughter-in-law of Paul Channon, Southend West MP until 1997.[19]

On 11 December 2021, Firth was selected as the Conservative candidate. She unsuccessfully contested Erith and Thamesmead in 2015 and Canterbury in 2019, and is a barrister and councillor on Sevenoaks Council. She is the chair of the Conservative Policy Forum.[20]

The British Freedom Party said their leader, Jayda Fransen, will stand.[21][n 1] She most recently stood as an independent in the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election, finishing in 15th place with 50 votes, or 0.13% of the vote.

UKIP announced its immigration spokesman Steve Laws as a candidate. The announcement, which the party linked to its critiques of the Conservative Party and the failures that led to Amess's death, was condemned by the other parties.[22][23]

Graham Moore represents the English Constitution Party, which intends to field a candidate for the first time.[24]

Previous result

Sir David Amess held the Southend West constituency from 1997 until his death in 2021.
General election 2019: Southend West[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Amess 27,555 59.2 +4.0
Labour Aston Line 13,096 28.1 −5.9
Liberal Democrats Nina Stimson 5,312 11.4 +6.9
Independent 77 Joseph 574 1.2 N/A
Majority 14,459 31.1 +9.9
Turnout 46,537 67.4 −2.3
Registered electors 69,046
Conservative hold Swing +4.9

Footnotes

  1. ^ The British Freedom Party is not currently on the register of political parties, and the party's name cannot appear on the ballot paper while that remains the case.

References

  1. ^ "Elections 2022". Southend Council. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. ^ Higginson, Harry (15 October 2021). "What happens after an MP dies in office?". Kent and Sussex Courier. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021.
  3. ^ Walker, Peter; Dodd, Vikram (15 October 2021). "Conservative MP David Amess stabbed in Essex attack". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. ^ Murphy, Matt; Casciani, Dominic (15 October 2021). "Sir David Amess: How a tragic day unfolded". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b Daly, Patrick (16 October 2021). "Labour and Lib Dems to stand aside in Southend West by-election". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Sir David Amess' family calls for country to 'set hatred aside' at his funeral". Independent. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. ^ @BBCEssex (5 January 2022). "It's been announced the by-election to choose new MP for Southend West, following death of Sir David Amess, will take place on February 3rd. The formal process to start the election came in the Commons from the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle earlier today" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Seat Details - Southend West". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Old Bexley and Sidcup byelection: Tories retain true-blue seat". The Guardian. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 4)
  11. ^ Roth, Andrew (31 January 2007). "Lord Kelvedon". The Guardian (obituary). Archived from the original on 1 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Labour, Lib Dems and Greens won't stand candidates in by-election after murder of David Amess". ITV News. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Green Party will not stand in Southend West by-election". The Green Party. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  14. ^ Reform UK [@reformparty_uk] (17 October 2021). "We can confirm that, following the horrific killing of Sir David Amess MP, Reform UK will not be contesting the upcoming Southend West by-election" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Stone, Jon (17 June 2016). "Jo Cox death: Parties stand down in killed Labour MP's seat as Corbyn and Cameron call for unity". Independent. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  16. ^ Maguire, Patrick (19 October 2021). "All parties should contest Southend West by-election". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Sir David Amess: Southend Tories say eight candidates show interest in by-election". BBC News. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Sir David Amess: Applications open to replace Southend West MP". BBC News. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Southend Tories vote on candidates to replace Sir David Amess". BBC News. 9 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Conservatives pick candidate for Sir David Amess's seat in Southend West". BBC News. 11 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Jayda Fransen listed on BBC news". BBC News. 19 October 2021.
  22. ^ "UKIP under fire after declaring candidate to stand for Sir David's MP seat". Echo. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Parties unite to condemn UKIP for 'using MP's death for political gain'". Echo. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  24. ^ Ben Raza (4 January 2022). "New party to stand for Sir David Amess's former seat". Echo. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Southend West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
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