East Anglia and Essex Constituency Target Seats
Party target seats »   Con   Lab   Lib Dem 1   Harwich - Read   2   Norfolk North West - Read   3   Castle Point - Read   4   Braintree - Read   5   Peterborough - Read   6   Norwich North - Read   7   Great Yarmouth - Read   8   Waveney - Read   9   Ipswich - Read   10   Harlow - Read   11   Basildon - Read   12   Colchester - Read   13   Bury St Edmunds - Read   14   Norfolk Mid - Read   15   Billericay - Read   16   Norfolk North - Read		Party seats pre-Election 2001

East Anglia and Essex were strongholds of the Conservatives during the 1970s and 1980s, and even after 1997 its parliamentary delegation was still majority Conservative: 24 Conservatives, 14 Labour and one Lib Dem. This marked a considerable Labour recovery - the party was reduced to one seat in the region in 1987 and was only up to 4 in 1992 - but it was much less impressive than the Labour triumph of 1945 in the region. Then, Labour won 18, plus one for the allied Common Wealth Party, to one Liberal and eight Conservatives. The east is the one region with a substantial number of seats that were Labour in 1945 but Conservative in 1997 (Norfolk SW, Norfolk S, Norfolk N, Chelmsford, Cambridgeshire and Sudbury). It used to be a very traditional agricultural region, with a regional capital at Norwich, some ports and resorts and a scatter of market towns. While there is still a great deal of arable farming, East Anglia is more dependent on trade, particularly with Europe, and has developed high-tech industry particularly around Cambridge.

Essex is technically in the south east rather than East Anglia, but it is linked with the region. Southern Essex is strongly influenced by London, including wealthy commuter towns, New Towns and industrial sprawl. Northern Essex is more rural and less ravaged by development.

Both parts of the region have grown in population, causing a steady increase in the number of parliamentary constituencies, from 27 in 1955 - 70, 31 in 1974 - 79, 36 in 1983-92 and 39 now. Each new allocation has been a long-term benefit to the Conservatives. By the 1990s the region sent a concentration of senior Tories to Westminster - John Major, Brian Mawhinney, Richard Ryder, John MacGregor, John Gummer and Gillian Shephard were said to comprise an 'East Anglian mafia'.

Like London, another economically dynamic region, Anglia and Essex swung to the Conservatives in 1987 but then exceeded the national movement to Labour both in 1992 and 1997. Unlike London, the Conservatives have made some headway in recovering from their losses since then, particularly along the coast. East Anglia is a rather Eurosceptic region, electing one UKIP list MEP in 1999, and Labour seem to have suffered. Both Southend seats looked marginal in 1997 but racked up colossal Conservative leads in the 1999 Euro and 2000 local elections. The Conservatives also superficially look exposed in many rural seats but should be able to hold on, although Norfolk South West is worth noting. It once oscillated between Labour and Conservative on tiny majorities, often going the 'wrong' way at elections, but had large Tory majorities in the 1970s and 1980s and was held by Gillian Shephard in 1997 despite a big swing. Could it revive its strange traditions? There was, admittedly, no sign that it was about to do so in the 1999 local elections.

In closer detail, there are three apparently safe Labour seats (majorities over 25%) in the region on 1997 figures, although there is not a single seat the Conservatives did not win at some point in the 1980s. The three are Thurrock, Cambridge and Norwich South. The latter two have seen considerable Lib Dem activity in local elections, and in May 2000 Labour trailed them by 20 points in the Norwich South city wards (there are also two South Norfolk wards in the seat). In Cambridge Labour enjoyed only a slim lead in the constituency as the Lib Dems gained the City Council and the Greens polled well. The Lib Dems are also locally active in South Norfolk and maintained control of the council in 1999; the Tories held the seat with only 40% of the vote in 1997 against split opposition.

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