Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)

Basildon
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Basildon in Essex in 2005.
Location of Essex within England.
County	Essex
February 1974–2010
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Basildon and Billericay, South Basildon and East Thurrock
Created from	Billericay
European Parliament constituency	East of England

Basildon was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

It was created in 1974, mostly from the seat of Billericay. It was one of the best known bellwether constituencies in Britain, having voted for the winning party in each election since its creation. The failure of the Labour Party to win it in the 1992 election — Basildon would be the first to declare of all the marginal seats — foreshadowed Labour's fourth straight defeat at the hands of the Conservative Party.

1974-1983: The Urban District of Basildon.

1983-1997: The District of Basildon wards of Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, Pitsea East, Pitsea West, and Vange.

1997-2010: The District of Basildon wards of Fryerns Central, Fryerns East, Langdon Hills, Lee Chapel North, Nethermayne, and Vange, and the Borough of Thurrock wards of Corringham and Fobbing, Orsett, Stanford-le-Hope, and The Homesteads.

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Essex, the Boundary Commission for England made radical changes to all parliamentary constituencies in the county for the 2010 General Election, and the Basildon constituency was divided. The majority of the seat formed the basis of the new South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, while the wards around central Basildon were merged with the bulk of the current Billericay constituency to form a new seat called Basildon and Billericay.