Southend West and Leigh covers western Southend-on-Sea and the town of Leigh-on-Sea. The constituency is predominantly urban and suburban, with a strong coastal character along the Thames estuary. Leigh has a distinct historic centre and waterfront, while neighbourhoods farther east are more closely integrated with the wider Southend urban area. Rail and road links provide connections toward London and central Southend. Parks, estuary frontage and open spaces break up the residential landscape. Overall, the seat combines established seaside and commuter communities within a largely continuous coastal urban corridor.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Southend West and Leigh, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population105,018
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationEast of England
Age profile
0 to 1721.4% · 22,492 people
18 to 246.0% · 6,310 people
25 to 3412.0% · 12,569 people
35 to 4920.6% · 21,591 people
50 to 6419.8% · 20,828 people
65 and over20.2% · 21,228 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
43,930 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners68.9% · 30,268 households
Private renters23.1% · 10,129 households
Social renters7.6% · 3,335 households
Other tenure0.5% · 198 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
43,928 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households31.3% · 13,757 households
Families with dependent children28.6% · 12,575 households
Other single-family households36.6% · 16,074 households
Other household types3.5% · 1,522 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
102,832 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot7.3% · 7,483 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little10.1% · 10,340 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act82.7% · 85,009 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
This constituency in Parliament
A high-confidence subset of current-session parliamentary records from this constituency's current MP where the full constituency name is stated explicitly in the written question, debate title or recorded section.
This is not a complete record of every local issue raised in Parliament. Project Open Gov does not currently infer a constituency connection from the MP relationship alone, speech text, nearby place names or other local entities.
Written question17 June 2026
Families: Southend West and Leigh
Raised by David Burton-Sampson MP
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support families in Southend West and Leigh constituency in summer 2026.
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 8 December 2026
End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately
Signatures in this constituency209
Signatures nationally127,162
Government response published · 100,000-signature debate threshold reached
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded52
Total awarded£2,821,652
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 9 June 2026
Extension 2027-28: Metal Culture Ltd
Metal Culture Limited
£614,304
Arts Council England · Arts
About this award
Extension 2027-28: Metal Culture Ltd - Combined arts - NPO 2023-26
National Lottery grantAwarded 18 May 2026
“Leapsprogs Nature School“
Leap Pathways CIC
£19,261
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Leap Pathways CIC - Environment - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 14 May 2026
From Grief to Connection: Expanding Peer Support Across Essex
Cruse Bereavement Support Essex
£19,975
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Cruse Bereavement Support Essex - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 7 May 2026
Antenatal to Adolescence
City Family CIC
£368,043
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
City Family CIC - Children & Young People - RC London and South East Region
National Lottery grantAwarded 7 May 2026
The Westcliff Welcome
Westcliff Charedi Synagogue
£20,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Westcliff Charedi Synagogue - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
47 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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