List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Last updated March 30, 2022

The ceremonial county of Kent, (which includes the unitary authority of Medway), is divided into 17 Parliamentary constituencies - one borough constituency and 16 county constituencies.

Constituencies

Conservative † Labour ‡ Liberal Democrats ¤

Constituency^{[nb 1]}	Electorate^[1]	Majority^[2]^{[nb 2]}
Ashford CC	89,553	24,029	Damian Green †	Dara Farrell ‡
Canterbury CC	80,203	1,836	Rosie Duffield ‡	Anna Firth †
Chatham and Aylesford CC	71,642	18,540	Tracey Crouch †	Vince Maple ‡
Dartford CC	82,209	19,160	Gareth Johnson †	Sacha Gosine ‡
Dover CC	76,355	12,278	Natalie Elphicke †	Charlotte Cornell ‡
Faversham and Mid Kent CC	73,403	21,976	Helen Whately †	Jenny Reeves ‡
Folkestone and Hythe CC	88,272	21,337	Damian Collins †	Laura Davison ‡
Gillingham and Rainham BC	73,549	15,119	Rehman Chishti †	Andy Stamp ‡
Gravesham CC	73,242	15,581	Adam Holloway †	Lauren Sullivan ‡
Maidstone and The Weald CC	76,109	21,772	Helen Grant †	Dan Wilkinson ‡
North Thanet CC	72,756	17,189	Roger Gale †	Coral Jones ‡
Rochester and Strood CC	82,056	17,072	Kelly Tolhurst †	Teresa Murray ‡
Sevenoaks CC	71,757	20,818	Laura Trott †	Gareth Willis ¤
Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC	83,917	24,479	Gordon Henderson †	Clive Johnson ‡
South Thanet CC	73,223	10,587	Craig Mackinlay †	Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt ‡
Tonbridge and Malling CC	79,278	26,941	Tom Tugendhat †	Richard Morris ¤
Tunbridge Wells CC	74,823	14,645	Greg Clark †	Ben Chapelard ¤

2010 boundary changes

Under the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England ^[3] decided to retain Kent's 17 constituencies for the 2010 election, making minor changes to realign constituency boundaries with the boundaries of current local government wards, and to reduce the electoral disparity between constituencies, including the transfer of Cliftonville from North Thanet to South Thanet. They recommended two name changes: Gillingham to Gillingham and Rainham to reflect the similar stature of the two towns, and Medway to Rochester and Strood to avoid confusion with the larger Medway unitary authority.

Former name	Boundaries 1997-2010	Current name	Boundaries 2010–present
Ashford CC Canterbury CC Chatham and Aylesford CC Dartford CC Dover CC Faversham and Mid Kent CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham BC Gravesham CC Maidstone and The Weald CC Medway CC North Thanet CC Sevenoaks CC Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC South Thanet CC Tonbridge and Malling CC Tunbridge Wells CC	Parliamentary constituencies in Kent	Ashford CC Canterbury CC Chatham and Aylesford CC Dartford CC Dover CC Faversham and Mid Kent CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham and Rainham BC Gravesham CC Maidstone and The Weald CC North Thanet CC Rochester and Strood CC Sevenoaks CC Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC South Thanet CC Tonbridge and Malling CC Tunbridge Wells CC	Proposed Revised constituencies in Kent

Proposed boundary changes

See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.

Following the abandonment of the Sixth Periodic Review (the 2018 review), the Boundary Commission for England formally launched the 2023 Review on 5 January 2021 and published their initial proposals on 8 June 2021.^[4]

The commission has proposed that an additional seat is created in Kent, with the formation of the constituency of Weald of Kent. As a consequence, Maidstone and the Weald, and Tonbridge and Malling would be renamed Maidstone and Malling, and Tonbridge respectively. Changes to North Thanet and South Thanet would result in them being replaced by the re-established constituencies of West Thanet and East Thanet respectively. Although only subject to a very minor boundary change, Dover would revert to its previous name of Dover and Deal.^[5]^[6]^[7]

The following constituencies are proposed:

Containing electoral wards from Ashford

Containing electoral wards from Canterbury

Canterbury CC
West Thanet CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Dartford

Dartford CC
Sevenoaks CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Dover

Dover and Deal CC
West Thanet CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Folkestone and Hythe

Ashford CC (part)
Folkstone and Hythe CC

Containing electoral wards from Gravesham

Gravesham CC

Containing electoral wards from Maidstone

Faversham and Mid Kent CC (part)
Maidstone and Malling CC (part)
Weald of Kent CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Medway

Containing electoral wards from Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks CC (part)
Tonbridge CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Swale

Faversham and Mid Kent CC (part)
Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC

Containing electoral wards from Thanet

East Thanet BC
West Thanet CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Tonbridge and Malling

Chatham and Aylesford CC (part)
Maidstone and Malling CC (part)
Tonbridge CC (part)

Containing electoral wards from Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells CC
Weald of Kent CC (part)

Revised proposals will be published in late 2022 and the final report will be submitted in June 2023.

Results history

Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019^[8]

2019

The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Kent in the 2019 general election were as follows:

Party	Votes	%	Change from 2017	Seats	Change from 2017
Conservative	532,342	60.1%	3.7%	16	0
Labour	221,554	25.0%	6.7%	1	0
Liberal Democrats	91,973	10.4%	4.9%	0	0
Greens	28,264	3.2%	1.0%	0	0
Others	11,063	1.3%	2.9%	0	0
Total	885,196	100.0		17

Percentage votes

Election year	1974 (Feb)	1974 (Oct)	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	2019
Conservative	44.2	44.0	53.9	53.9	54.0	53.1	40.5	43.4	45.8	50.5	49.2	56.4	60.1
Labour	29.5	33.3	29.9	18.6	19.3	24.3	37.1	37.7	32.4	21.1	20.0	31.7	25.0
Liberal Democrat ¹	25.7	21.8	15.1	26.9	26.1	21.3	17.0	15.5	17.3	20.9	6.3	5.5	10.4
Green Party	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	1.0	3.6	2.2	3.2
UKIP	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	3.9	20.3	3.6	*
Other	0.6	0.9	1.1	0.7	0.6	1.3	5.4	3.4	4.4	2.6	0.5	0.6	1.3

¹1974 & 1979 - Liberal Party; 1983 & 1987 - SDP-Liberal Alliance

* Included in Other

Seats

Election year	1974 (Feb)	1974 (Oct)	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	2019
Conservative	13	12	15	16	16	16	9	9	10	17	17	16	16
Labour	2	3	0	0	0	0	8	8	7	0	0	1	1
Total	15	15	15	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	17

Maps

Feb 1974
Oct 1974
1979
1983
1987
1992
1997
2001
2005
2010
2015
2017
2019

Historic representation by party

A cell marked → (with a different colour background to the preceding cell) indicates that the previous MP continued to sit under a new party name.

1885 to 1918

Conservative Independent Conservative Independent Liberal Labour Liberal Liberal Unionist National Party

Constituency	1885	1886	88	89	1892	93	1895	98	99	1900	01	03	04	1906	Jan 1910	Dec 1910	11	12	13	15	17	18
Ashford	Pomfret				Hardy
Canterbury	Heaton															Bennett-Goldney						Anderson
Chatham	Gorst				Loyd		Davies							Jenkins	Hohler
Dartford	Dyke													Rowlands	Mitchell	Rowlands
Dover	Dickson			Wyndham															Ponsonby		→
Faversham	Knatchbull-Hugessen						Barnes			Howard				Napier	Wheler
Gravesend	White				Palmer			Ryder		Parker												Richardson
Hythe	Watkin	→					Edwards		E. Sassoon									P. Sassoon
Isle of Thanet	King-Harman		Lowther										Marks		Craig
Maidstone	Ross		Cornwallis				Hunt	Cornwallis		Barker	Evans			Vane-Tempest-Stewart						Bellairs
Medway	Gathorne-Hardy				Warde
Rochester	Hughes-Hallett			Knatchbull-Hugessen	Davies	Gascoyne-Cecil						Tuff		Lamb	Ridley	Lamb
St Augustine's	Akers-Douglas																McNeill
Sevenoaks	Mills				Forster
Tunbridge	Norton				Griffith-Boscawen									Hedges	Spender-Clay

1918 to 1950

Coalition Liberal (1918-22) / National Liberal (1922-23) Conservative Constitutionalist Independent Labour Liberal National Labour

Constituency	1918	19	20	21	1922	23	1923	1924	27	28	1929	30	31	1931	33	35	1935	37	38	39	43	1945	45	46	47
Bexley																						Adamson		Bramall
Orpington																						Smithers
Ashford	Steel										Kedward			Knatchbull	Spens						Smith
Bromley	Forster	James										Campbell											Macmillan
Canterbury	McNeill								Wayland													White
Chatham	Moore-Brabazon										Markham		→	Goff			Plugge					Bottomley
Chislehurst	A. Smithers				Nesbitt			W. Smithers														Wallace
Dartford	Rowlands		Mills		Jarrett	→	Mills	McDonnell			Mills			Clarke					Adamson			Dodds
Dover	Ponsonby			Polson	Astor																	Thomas
Faversham	Wheler									Maitland												Wells
Gillingham	Hohler										Gower											Binns
Gravesend	Richardson						Isaacs	Albery														Allighan			Acland
Hythe	P. Sassoon																			Brabner		Mackeson
Isle of Thanet	Craig	Harmsworth									Balfour											Carson
Maidstone	Bellairs													Bossom
Sevenoaks	Bennett						Williams	Styles			Young					Ponsonby
Tonbridge	Spender-Clay																	Baillie				Williams

1950 to 1974

Conservative Labour Liberal

Constituency	1950	53	55	1955	56	57	1959	62	64	1964	1966	1970
Ashford	Deedes
Beckenham	Buchan-Hepburn					Goodhart							Transferred to Greater London
Bexley	Heath												Transferred to Greater London
Bromley	Macmillan									Hunt			Transferred to Greater London
Canterbury	White	Thomas									Crouch
Chislehurst	Hornsby-Smith										Macdonald	Hornsby-Smith	Transferred to Greater London
Dartford	Dodds			Irving								Trew
Dover	Arbuthnot									Ennals		Rees
Erith and Crayford				Dodds									Transferred to Greater London
Faversham	Wells								Boston			Moate
Folkestone and Hythe	Mackeson						Costain
Gillingham	Burden
Gravesend	Acland			Kirk						Murray		White
Isle of Thanet	Carson	Rees-Davies
Maidstone	Bossom						Wells
Orpington	Smithers		Sumner					Lubbock				Stanbrook	Transferred to Greater London
Rochester and Chatham	Bottomley						Critchley			Kerr		Fenner
Sevenoaks	Rodgers
Tonbridge	Williams				Hornby

1974 to present

Conservative Independent Labour UKIP

Constituency	Feb 1974	Oct 1974	1979	1983	1987	1997	2001	2005	2010	14	2015	2017	17	18	19	2019
Ashford	Deedes	Speed				Green
Canterbury	D. Crouch				Brazier							Duffield
Dartford	Irving		Dunn			Stoate			Johnson
Dover & Deal / Dover (1983–)	Rees				Shaw	Prosser			C. Elphicke				→	→	→	N. Elphicke
Faversham / Sittingbourne and Sheppey (1997)	Moate					Wyatt			Henderson
Folkestone and Hythe	Costain			Howard					Collins
Gillingham / & Rainham (2010)	Burden			Couchman		Clark			Chishti
Gravesend / Gravesham (1983)	Ovenden		Brinton		Arnold	Pond		Holloway
Maidstone / & The Weald (1997)	Wells				Widdecombe				Grant
Rochester & Chatham / Medway (1983) / Rochester & Strood (2010)	Fenner	Bean	Fenner			Marshall-Andrews			Reckless	→	Tolhurst
Sevenoaks	Rodgers		Wolfson			Fallon										Trott
Thanet W / North Thanet (1983)	Rees-Davies			Gale
Tonbridge & Malling	Hornby	Stanley										Tugendhat
Thanet East / South Thanet (1983)	Aitken					Ladyman			Sandys		Mackinlay
Tunbridge Wells	Mayhew					Norman		Clark
Mid Kent / Faversham & Mid Kent (1997)				Rowe			Robertson				Whately
Chatham and Aylesford						Shaw			T. Crouch

Notes

↑ BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.
↑ The majority is the number of votes the winning candidate receives more than their nearest rival.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Baker, Carl; Uberoi, Elise; Cracknell, Richard (28 January 2020). "General Election 2019: full results and analysis".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
1 2 3 "Constituencies A-Z - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
↑ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
↑ "2023 Review | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
↑ "New Constituency Proposed for Kent". Kent Bylines. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
↑ Bailes, Kathy (8 June 2021). "Boundary changes proposed for Thanet with East and West constituencies". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
↑ "Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
↑ Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] BC denotes borough constituency, CC denotes county constituency.

[4] The majority is the number of votes the winning candidate receives more than their nearest rival.

[2] Baker, Carl; Uberoi, Elise; Cracknell, Richard (28 January 2020). "General Election 2019: full results and analysis".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[:0-3] 1 2 3 "Constituencies A-Z - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 24 April 2020.

[5] "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2020.

[6] "2023 Review | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2021.

[7] "New Constituency Proposed for Kent". Kent Bylines. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[8] Bailes, Kathy (8 June 2021). "Boundary changes proposed for Thanet with East and West constituencies". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

[9] "Initial proposals for new Parliamentary constituency boundaries in the South East region | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

[10] Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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