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South East Essex — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

South East Essex was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 24,532 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in South East Essex from 1885 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1885–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 William Thomas Makins (Conservative) 3,707 51.4% William Henry Wills (Liberal) 207 (2.9 pts) 76.9%
1886 Frederic Carne Rasch (Conservative) 3,758 56.3% William Henry Wills (Liberal) 842 (12.6 pts) 71.3%
1892 Frederic Carne Rasch (Conservative) 4,901 52.9% Edmund Wright Brooks (Liberal) 542 (5.9 pts) 77.4%
1895 Frederic Carne Rasch (Conservative) 5,460 60.8% David Milne-Watson (Liberal) 1,940 (21.6 pts) 65.8%
1900 Edward Tufnell (Conservative) 5,815 56.6% Rowland Edward Whitehead (Liberal) 1,354 (13.2 pts) 67.7%
1906 Rowland Edward Whitehead (Liberal) 9,230 56.3% John Robert Pretyman Newman (Conservative) 2,060 (12.6 pts) 79.6%
Jan 1910 John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood (Conservative) 11,199 54.7% Rowland Edward Whitehead (Liberal) 1,911 (9.3 pts) 83.1%
Dec 1910 John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood (Conservative) 10,108 53.2% John Henry Burrows (Liberal) 1,217 (6.4 pts) 77.1%
1918 Frank Hilder (Unionist) 11,703 63.5% Joseph Patrick Cotter (Labour) 6,360 (34.5 pts) 50.9%
1922 Frank Hilder (Unionist) 13,522 54.1% Philip Christopher Hoffman (Labour) 2,063 (8.3 pts) 58.9%
1923 Philip Christopher Hoffman (Labour) 13,979 53.0% Frank Hilder (Unionist) 1,600 (6.1 pts) 58.1%
1924 Herbert William Locker (Unionist) 19,731 58.8% Philip Christopher Hoffman (Labour) 5,911 (17.6 pts) 69.3%
1929 John Richard Anthony Oldfield (Labour) 18,756 37.6% Herbert William Looker (Unionist) 626 (1.2 pts) 65.3%
1931 Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes (Conservative) 30,436 53.4% John Richard Anthony Oldfield (Labour) 10,370 (18.2 pts) 66.8%
1935 Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes (Conservative) 25,912 44.2% John Richard Anthony Oldfield (Labour) 970 (1.7 pts) 59.5%
1945 Raymond Jones Gunter (Labour) 25,581 53.8% Aubrey Jones (Conservative) 3,591 (7.5 pts) 65.7%
1955 Bernard Richard Braine (Conservative) 20,531 59.7% Edward W Harby (Labour) 6,690 (19.5 pts) 72.9%
1959 Bernard Richard Braine (Conservative) 28,124 61.0% Reginald M Fryer (Labour) 10,133 (22.0 pts) 76.5%
1964 Bernard Richard Braine (Conservative) 33,494 57.0% Anthony Pearson-Clarke (Labour) 8,201 (14.0 pts) 75.0%
1966 Bernard Braine (Conservative) 31,942 48.5% Derek Edwards (Labour) 5,734 (8.7 pts) 77.3%
1970 Bernard Braine (Conservative) 41,589 57.7% Derek William Edwards (Labour) 17,905 (24.8 pts) 72.0%
Feb 1974 Bernard Braine (Conservative) 28,644 46.3% David Jones (Labour) 9,265 (15.0 pts) 82.1%
Oct 1974 Bernard Braine (Conservative) 27,348 48.8% David Jones (Labour) 8,710 (15.5 pts) 73.7%
1979 Bernard Braine (Conservative) 40,497 64.0% Nigel Smith (Labour) 24,532 (38.7 pts) 76.9%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Thomas Makins Conservative 3,70751.4% Yes
William Henry Wills Liberal 3,50048.6% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederic Carne Rasch Conservative 3,75856.3% Yes
William Henry Wills Liberal 2,91643.7% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederic Carne Rasch Conservative 4,90152.9% Yes
Edmund Wright Brooks Liberal 4,35947.1% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frederic Carne Rasch Conservative 5,46060.8% Yes
David Milne-Watson Liberal 3,52039.2% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Tufnell Conservative 5,81556.6% Yes
Rowland Edward Whitehead Liberal 4,46143.4% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Rowland Edward Whitehead Liberal 9,23056.3% Yes
John Robert Pretyman Newman Conservative 7,17043.7% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood Conservative 11,19954.7% Yes
Rowland Edward Whitehead Liberal 9,28845.3% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Hendley Morrison Kirkwood Conservative 10,10853.2% Yes
John Henry Burrows Liberal 8,89146.8% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Hilder Unionist 11,70363.5% Yes
Joseph Patrick Cotter Labour 5,34329.0% No
Sydney Walter Robinson Liberal 1,3727.4% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Frank Hilder Unionist 13,52254.1% Yes
Philip Christopher Hoffman Labour 11,45945.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Philip Christopher Hoffman Labour 13,97953.0% Yes
Frank Hilder Unionist 12,37947.0% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Herbert William Locker Unionist 19,73158.8% Yes
Philip Christopher Hoffman Labour 13,82041.2% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Richard Anthony Oldfield Labour 18,75637.6% Yes
Herbert William Looker Unionist 18,13036.3% No
George Thomas Veness Liberal 13,03026.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes Conservative 30,43653.4% Yes
John Richard Anthony Oldfield Labour 20,06635.2% No
Felix Greene National Labour 6,53911.5% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes Conservative 25,91244.2% Yes
John Richard Anthony Oldfield Labour 24,94242.5% No
Arthur Musgrove Mathews Liberal 7,79713.3% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Raymond Jones Gunter Labour 25,58153.8% Yes
Aubrey Jones Conservative 21,99046.2% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Richard Braine Conservative 20,53159.7% Yes
Edward W Harby Labour 13,84140.3% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Richard Braine Conservative 28,12461.0% Yes
Reginald M Fryer Labour 17,99139.0% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Richard Braine Conservative 33,49457.0% Yes
Anthony Pearson-Clarke Labour 25,29343.0% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Braine Conservative 31,94248.5% Yes
Derek Edwards Labour 26,20839.8% No
Joyce Arram Liberal 7,70611.7% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Braine Conservative 41,58957.7% Yes
Derek William Edwards Labour 23,68432.9% No
Christopher Hugh Bohling Liberal 6,8119.4% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Braine Conservative 28,64446.3% Yes
David Jones Labour 19,37931.3% No
Frances Alexander Liberal 13,89122.4% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Braine Conservative 27,34848.8% Yes
David Jones Labour 18,63833.3% No
Anthony Morris Liberal 10,04917.9% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Bernard Braine Conservative 40,49764.0% Yes
Nigel Smith Labour 15,96525.2% No
Francis Alexander Liberal 6,85810.8% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1885: Conservative margin 2.9 pts 1886: Conservative margin 12.6 pts 1892: Conservative margin 5.9 pts 1895: Conservative margin 21.6 pts 1900: Conservative margin 13.2 pts 1906: Liberal margin 12.6 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 9.3 pts Dec 1910: Conservative margin 6.4 pts 1918: Unionist margin 34.5 pts 1922: Unionist margin 8.3 pts 1923: Labour margin 6.1 pts 1924: Unionist margin 17.6 pts 1929: Labour margin 1.2 pts 1931: Conservative margin 18.2 pts 1935: Conservative margin 1.7 pts 1945: Labour margin 7.5 pts 1955: Conservative margin 19.5 pts 1959: Conservative margin 22.0 pts 1964: Conservative margin 14.0 pts 1966: Conservative margin 8.7 pts 1970: Conservative margin 24.8 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 15.0 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 15.5 pts 1979: Conservative margin 38.7 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

South East Essex has been contested at 24 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won South East Essex in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won South East Essex in 1979 with 40,497 votes (64.0%), a majority of 24,532 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won South East Essex since 1885?

Since 1885, South East Essex has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Unionist.

What was the closest result in South East Essex?

The closest result on record for South East Essex was 1929, when Labour beat Unionist by just 626 votes (1.2 percentage points).

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