In what is a relatively unusual shape for a parliamentary constituency, this seat forms a doughnut around the constituency of Colchester, part of which was represented by the present MP for Essex North, Bernard Jenkin, between 1992 and 1997.
Mainly affluent and rural, the constituency takes in areas covered by both Tendring and Colchester councils, running from Blackwater in the South up to the Stour and the Suffolk border in the north. There are only four towns, each of which has a population of below 10,000. The largest is Tiptree, in the south west corner, which is best known for the production of jam.
Wivenhoe lies south east of Colchester, and is a historic settlement, recorded in the Doomsday Book. The streets here remain small and quaint, leading into each other and ending at the picturesque waterfront where fishing boats and small sailing craft bob at their moorings. Brightlingsea, scene of some of the 1995 protests over live animal exports, lies at the mouth of the River Colne; and at the south of the seat is West Mersea, which is situated on Mersea island.