This is a semi-rural seat on the borders of Greater London in Essex. It was was political home to Steve Norris from 1988 to 1997, when he stood down - on his own admission - to "spend more time with his money", before he became the Tory candidate for London Mayor.
Other key figures who have represented Epping include Sir Winston Churchill and Norman Tebbit.
The constituency lies on the line of the Greenwich Meridian and is dissected by two major motorways - the M25 London Orbital motorway and the M11, which links Cambridge to London. The seat encompasses a number of middle class towns and villages which are dotted along the far eastern section of London Underground's Central Line, namely, Epping, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton, Theydon Bois and the particularly affluent "Birds of a Feather" village of Chigwell.
One noteworthy business in the constituency is Debden Security Printing Ltd, which runs the Bank of England print works, situated in Loughton. Each year, it produces nearly 1.4 billion banknotes - enough, put end to end, to stretch half-way to the moon.
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