a group traditionally voted for the Labour Party. However, throughout the 1980s and until the Labour landslide victory of 1997, many voters in the area transferred their loyalties to the Conservative Party. The MP throughout that period was David Amess, who himself originated from east London (Plaistow), and later held the safer seat of Southend West. New Labour sought to take seats exactly like this one, which were crucial in ensuring they won the 1997 general election by a landslide. Labour took the seat in 1997 and 2001 with a large majority, and in 2005 with a reduced majority. Basildon thus proved to be a "bellwether" seat, voting for the eventual winning party since 1974. Both the successor seats that replaced Basildon in 2010 were considered to be much less favourable to Labour than the old Basildon seat, ending Basildon's bellwether status. Members of Parliament Elections Elections in the 1970s Elections in the 1980s Note: This constituency underwent boundary changes after the 1979 election, so was notionally a Labour seat. Elections in the 1990s Basildon was an early sign that the Conservatives were heading for a better result than the opinion polls had predicted. Due to constituency boundary changes between 1992 and 1997, the changes in percentage of vote share in 1997 are given relative to the notional 1992 results, which reflect what the results would have been in 1992 had the election been fought with the 1997 boundaries. Elections in the 2000s See also List of parliamentary constituencies in Essex Notes and references Parliamentary constituencies in Essex (historic) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2010 Politics of the Borough of Basildon