Maidstone (UK Parliament constituency)

Maidstone
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Maidstone in Kent, showing boundaries used from 1983-1997
County	Kent
Major settlements	Maidstone
1918–1997
Seats	One
Replaced by	Maidstone & The Weald
1560–1918
Seats	1560–1885: Two 1885–1918: One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Maidstone was a parliamentary constituency represented in the Parliament of England, Great Britain and from 1801 the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The parliamentary borough of Maidstone returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1552 until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member. The borough was abolished in 1918 and replaced with a county division of the same name, which was abolished for the 1997 general election, and partially replaced by the new Maidstone and The Weald constituency.

History

Before the 19th century

Maidstone was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament, in 1552; at the time it was one of the largest English towns not already represented, and was one of a number of boroughs either enfranchised or re-enfranchised during the reign of Edward VI. However, barely had it won the right than its charter was cancelled after the accession of Mary I as a punishment for the town's part in Wyatt's Rebellion. This was the only recorded instance of a borough's right to return MPs being directly revoked until Grampound was disfranchised for corruption in the 1820s (although there were other cases of temporary suspension or of the right lapsing through disuse in medieval times, when representation was less valued).^{[ citation needed ]}

After the death of Mary I, Maidstone's right were restored, and it elected members to the Parliament of 1560, since when the constituency has been continuously represented. The borough consisted of the whole parish of Maidstone, although the boundaries had no practical effect - the right to vote was vested in the freemen of the town, whether or not they were resident within the borough, provided they were not receiving poor relief. In 1833, just after this franchise was reformed by the Great Reform Act, it was estimated that there were 845 freemen, of whom more than 300 lived over seven miles from the town, and 31 of whom were disqualified from voting because they were in receipt of alms. At the 1831 general election, between 600 and 670 men voted.^{[ citation needed ]}

A borough of this size was too large to fall under the dominance of a local landowner as was usual in the case of the smaller constituencies in the Unreformed Parliament, and Maidstone remained comparatively free with elections sometimes vigorously contested (and usually expensive for the candidates), although the Finch and Marsham families both had a degree of influence over results in the 18th century. Namier describes in detail the Maidstone election of 1761, ^[1] showing how at this period the organised divisions among the rank-and-file voters in competitive constituencies tended to be religious rather than party-political; the Whig faction in Maidstone drew its strength from the Nonconformists while the Tories were the Anglican establishment. Yet so complicated was the politics of the period that although the local Whigs had asked Rose Fuller, a personal friend of the Whig Prime Minister The Duke of Newcastle, to stand as their candidate Newcastle refused to support him; indeed, Newcastle used his government patronage to force those of the electors employed in the naval dockyard at Chatham to vote for the incumbent Tory MPs, to whom he had already promised his support before Fuller's candidacy was mooted. In the event, though, Fuller succeeded in being elected, many of the government employees defying Newcastle to support him.^{[ citation needed ]}

After the Reform Act

At the time of the Reform Act, the population of the borough was 15,387, and it contained 3,018 houses. The boundaries of the borough remained unchanged until 1918. Under the reformed franchise, there were 1,108 electors registered to vote at the general election of 1832. The town continued to grow so that by 1865 the electorate had reached 1,817, and this was almost doubled by the extension of the franchise in the second reform act, so that there were 3,420 registered electors for the 1868 general election.

The borough retained two MPs until 1885, when its representation was halved; at the 1885 general election the franchise now extended to 6,530 electors, voting for a population of around 35,000. This was a relatively small electorate for the period and made bribery a practical proposition, and Maidstone was one of a small number of constituencies where corruption was proved after the tightening of election law in the 1880s. Generally a fairly safe Conservative seat, the constituency elected a Liberal candidate against the national tide in 1900, but it was clear that corrupt practices had contributed to his victory and he was unseated on petition; the voters seem to have resented the petition, however, and also elected the Liberal candidate in the ensuing by-election. At the following election in 1906, Maidstone again swung in the opposite direction to the country as a whole, electing a Conservative - one of only five Unionist gains across the country - and the victor was again charged with corruption; on this occasion the candidate was acquitted, but one of the judges noted that "there exists among the voters of this borough a number of the lower class who expect, and are known to respect, a payment or reward for their votes... The proved cases of bribery extend through all the wards."

The county constituency

The borough was abolished with effect from the general election of 1918, but the Maidstone name was transferred to the new county division in which the town stood, which consisted of Maidstone itself and the Maidstone and Hollingbourne rural districts. These contained no towns of any size, but the villages collectively outvoted Maidstone. The new constituency was as safely Conservative as its predecessor, and its boundaries remained unaltered until 1983.

By the 1980s, population growth meant that the constituency was considerably oversized, with one of the largest electorates in England. In the 1983 boundary revisions, which for the first time reflected the local government boundary changes of the 1970s, the size of the Maidstone constituency was considerably reduced. The area to the north-east of the town, and two wards of the town itself, were moved into the new Mid Kent constituency; as these were strongly Conservative wards and there had been a Liberal surge in the area around the time the Liberal-SDP Alliance was formed, the Alliance had some hopes of making a breakthrough in the revised constituency. However, they could only cut the Tory majority to a little over 7,000 in 1983, John Wells taking over half the votes.

Boundary changes in 1997 saw the constituency abolished and replaced with a new Maidstone and The Weald county constituency. The Maidstone town wards which had been in Mid Kent since 1983 were included in the new seat, and a rural part of the Weald to the south of the town, previously in the Tunbridge Wells constituency was also included; but about a third of the electorate in the Maidstone constituency was transferred to the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency - this included the rural wards to the east of the town, but also the Shepway and Park Wood areas of Maidstone proper.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The existing parliamentary borough, excluding a detached part of the parish of Maidstone known as Lodington. ^[2]

Members of Parliament

Maidstone borough

MPs 1560-1660

Parliament	First member	Second member
1562–3	Nicholas Barham [3]	Henry Fisher [4]
1571	Thomas Walsingham	Nicholas St Leger [4]
1572	Nicholas St Leger	Thomas Dannett [4]
1584	Thomas Randolph	Michael Sondes [4]
1586	John Astley	Thomas Randolph [4]
1588	John Astley	Thomas Randolph [4]
1593	Sir Thomas Fludd	Lewen Buffkyn [4]
1597	Sir Thomas Fludd	Sir John Leveson [4]
1601	Sir Thomas Fludd	Sir John Leveson [4]
1604-1611	Sir Francis Fane	Laurence Washington
1614	Sir Francis Fane	Sir John Scott
1621-1622	Sir Francis Fane	Sir Francis Barnham
1624	Sir George Fane	Thomas Stanley
1625	Edward Mapleton	Thomas Stanley
1626	Sir George Fane	Francis Barnham
1628	Sir George Fane	Francis Barnham
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)	Sir George Fane	Sir Francis Barnham
1640 (Nov)	Sir Francis Barnham,died Nov 1646	Sir Humfrey Tufton
1645	Thomas Twisden	Sir Humfrey Tufton not sat after Pride's Purge, Dec 1648
1648	Thomas Twisden excluded in Pride's Purge, Dec 1648
1653	Maidstone was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654	Sir John Banks	(One seat only)
1656	Sir John Banks	(One seat only)
1659	Sir John Banks	Andrew Broughton

MPs 1660-1885

Year		First member [5]	First party		Second member [5]	Second party
April 1660		Thomas Twisden			Robert Barnham
August 1660		Sir Edward Hales
1661		Sir Edmund Pierce
1668		Thomas Harlackenden
February 1679		Sir John Tufton			Sir John Darell
August 1679					Thomas Fane
March 1685					Archibald Clinkard
November 1685		Edwin Wyatt
1689		Sir Thomas Taylor			Caleb Banks
1690					Thomas Rider
1695					Sir John Banks
1696		Thomas Rider
1698		Sir Robert Marsham			Thomas Bliss
July 1702					Sir Thomas Roberts
October 1702	Writ suspended - both seats vacant [6]
1704		Heneage Finch			Thomas Bliss
1705		Sir Thomas Culpeper
1708					Sir Robert Marsham
1713		Sir Samuel Ongley
1715		Sir Thomas Culpeper
1716					Sir Barnham Rider
1722					John Finch
1723		Sir Barnham Rider
1727		Thomas Hope
1734		William Horsemonden-Turner
1740					Robert Fairfax
1741		Lord Guernsey			John Bligh
1747		William Horsemonden-Turner			Robert Fairfax
1753		Gabriel Hanger	Tory
1754					Lord Guernsey
1757					Savile Finch
1761		Rose Fuller	Whig		William Northey	Tory
1768		Hon. Charles Marsham			Robert Gregory
1774		Sir Horatio Mann			Lord Guernsey
1777					Hon. Charles Finch
1780					Clement Taylor	Whig [7]
1784		Gerard Edwardes	Tory [7]
1788		Sir Matthew Bloxham	Tory [7]
1796					Major General Oliver de Lancey	Tory [7]
1802					John Hodsdon Durand	Whig [7]
1806		George Simson	Tory [7]		George Longman	Whig [7]
1812					Egerton Brydges	Tory [7]
1818		Abraham Wildey Robarts	Whig [7]		George Longman	Whig [7]
1820					John Wells	Tory [7]
1830					Henry Winchester	Tory [7]
1831					Charles James Barnett	Whig [7]
1835					Wyndham Lewis	Conservative [7]
1837		Benjamin Disraeli	Conservative [7]
1838					John Minet Fector	Conservative [7]
1841		Alexander Hope	Conservative [7]		George Dodd [8]	Conservative [7]
1852		James Whatman	Radical [9] [10] [11]
1853					William Lee	Radical [9] [10] [12]
1857		Alexander Beresford Hope	Conservative		Edward Scott	Conservative
1859		Charles Buxton	Liberal		William Lee	Liberal
1865		James Whatman	Liberal
1870					Sir John Lubbock	Liberal
1874		Sir Sydney Waterlow	Liberal
1880		Alexander Henry Ross	Conservative		John Evans Freke-Aylmer	Conservative
1885	Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885-1918

Election		Member [5]	Party
	1885	Alexander Henry Ross	Conservative
	1888	Fiennes Cornwallis	Conservative
	1895	Sir Frederick Hunt	Conservative
	1898	Fiennes Cornwallis	Conservative
	1900	John Barker	Liberal
	1901	Sir Francis Evans	Liberal
	1906	Viscount Castlereagh	Conservative
	1915	Carlyon Bellairs	Conservative
1918		Borough abolished; county division created

Maidstone County Constituency (1918–1997)

Election		Member [5]	Party
	1918	Carlyon Bellairs	Conservative
	1931	Alfred Bossom	Conservative
	1959	John Wells	Conservative
	1987	Ann Widdecombe	Conservative
1997		constituency abolished: see Maidstone and The Weald

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	470	44.4
	Tory	Henry Winchester	387	36.6
	Tory	Philip Rawlings	195	18.4
	Whig	William George Tyssen Daniel Tyssen	6	0.6
Turnout			752	c. 85.9
Registered electors			c. 875
Majority			83	7.8
	Whig hold		Swing
Majority			381	36.0
	Tory hold		Swing

General election 1831: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	478	38.1	−6.3
	Whig	Charles James Barnett	441	35.2	+34.6
	Tory	Henry Winchester	185	14.8	−21.8
	Tory	George Simson	150	12.0	−6.4
Majority			256	20.4	+12.6
Turnout			654	c. 74.7	c. −11.2
Registered electors			c. 875
	Whig hold		Swing	+3.9
	Whig gain from Tory		Swing	+24.4

General election 1832: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	500	35.9	−2.2
	Whig	Charles James Barnett	469	33.7	−1.5
	Tory	Wyndham Lewis	422	30.3	+3.5
Majority			47	3.4	−17.0
Turnout			873	78.8	c. +4.1
Registered electors			1,108
	Whig hold		Swing	−2.0
	Whig hold		Swing	−1.6

General election 1835: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wyndham Lewis	529	41.7	+11.4
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	398	31.4	−4.5
	Whig	Charles James Barnett	333	26.3	−7.4
	Conservative	Matthias Prime Lucas	5	0.4	N/A
	Conservative	E Hildyard	3	0.2	N/A
Turnout			907	73.5	−5.3
Registered electors			1,234
Majority			196	15.4	N/A
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+11.7
Majority			393	31.0	+27.6
	Whig hold		Swing	−5.1

General election 1837: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wyndham Lewis	782	38.4	+17.6
	Conservative	Benjamin Disraeli	668	32.8	+12.0
	Radical	Thomas Perronet Thompson	559	27.5	New
	Radical	Thomas Erskine Perry	25	1.2	New
Majority			109	5.3	-10.1
Turnout			1,209	86.4	+12.9
Registered electors			1,399
	Conservative hold		Swing	+17.6
	Conservative gain from Whig		Swing	+12.0

Lewis' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 March 1838: Maidstone ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Minet Fector	708	54.8	−16.4
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	583	45.2	N/A
Majority			125	9.6	+4.3
Turnout			1,291	87.0	+0.6
Registered electors			1,399
	Conservative hold		Swing	−16.4

The by-election was declared void, causing another by-election.

By-election, 15 June 1838: Maidstone ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Minet Fector	707	58.0	−13.2
	Whig	Abraham Wildey Robarts	512	42.0	N/A
Majority			195	16.0	+10.7
Turnout			1,219	82.1	−4.3
Registered electors			1,399
	Conservative hold		Swing	−13.2

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[7] [14]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Beresford Hope	765	40.1	+1.7
	Conservative	George Dodd	725	38.0	+5.2
	Radical	David Salomons [15]	418	21.9	−6.8
Majority			307	16.1	+10.8
Turnout			1,152	69.4	−17.0
Registered electors			1,660
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.3

General election 1847: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Beresford Hope	Unopposed
	Conservative	George Dodd	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,741
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	James Whatman	848	39.6	New
	Conservative	George Dodd	709	33.1	N/A
	Radical	William Lee	584	27.3	New
Turnout			1,071 (est)	61.1 (est)	N/A
Registered electors			1,751
Majority			139	6.5	N/A
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A
Majority			125	5.8	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Dodd's election was declared void on petition due to treating by his agents, causing a by-election. ^[16]

By-election, 16 May 1853: Maidstone ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Radical	William Lee	748	50.3	−16.6
	Peelite	Charles Wykeham Martin [12] [17]	738	49.7	+16.6
Majority			10	0.6	N/A
Turnout			1,486	81.9	+20.8
Registered electors			1,814
	Radical gain from Conservative		Swing	−16.6

General election 1857: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Beresford Hope	801	27.6	+11.0
	Conservative	Edward Scott	759	26.1	+9.5
	Radical	William Lee	689	23.7	−3.6
	Whig	Humphrey Francis St John-Mildmay [18] [19]	655	22.6	−17.0
Majority			70	2.4	N/A
Turnout			1,452 (est)	90.1 (est)	+29.0
Registered electors			1,611
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.7
	Conservative gain from Radical		Swing	+9.9

General election 1859: Maidstone (2 seats) ^{[14] [20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Lee	776	25.4	+1.7
	Liberal	Charles Buxton	776	25.4	+2.8
	Conservative	John Wardlaw	751	24.6	−3.0
	Conservative	Egerton Vernon-Harcourt	749	24.5	−1.6
Majority			25	0.8	N/A
Turnout			1,526 (est)	82.6 (est)	−7.5
Registered electors			1,848
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.0
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Lee	869	25.7	+0.3
	Liberal	James Whatman	867	25.7	+0.3
	Conservative	Edward Betts	838	24.8	+0.2
	Conservative	John Wardlaw [21]	801	23.7	−0.8
Majority			29	0.9	+0.1
Turnout			1,688 (est)	92.9 (est)	+10.3
Registered electors			1,817
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 1868: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Lee	1,569	26.6	+0.9
	Liberal	James Whatman	1,546	26.2	+0.5
	Conservative	William Foster White [22]	1,412	23.9	−0.9
	Conservative	George Parbury [23]	1,369	23.2	−0.5
Majority			134	2.3	+1.4
Turnout			2,948 (est)	86.2 (est)	−6.7
Registered electors			3,420
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.6

Elections in the 1870s

Lee's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 Feb 1870: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lubbock	1,504	51.8	−1.0
	Conservative	William Foster White [22]	1,402	48.2	+1.1
Majority			102	3.4	+1.1
Turnout			2,906	90.4	+4.2
Registered electors			3,214
	Liberal hold		Swing	−1.1

General election 1874: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lubbock	1,558	26.7	+0.1
	Liberal	Sydney Waterlow	1,491	25.6	−0.6
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Ross	1,414	24.3	+0.4
	Conservative	John Constantine Stanley	1,365	23.4	+0.2
Majority			77	1.3	−1.0
Turnout			2,914 (est)	82.9 (est)	−3.3
Registered electors			3,517
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.5

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Maidstone (2 seats) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Ross	1,965	27.5	+3.2
	Conservative	John Evans Freke-Aylmer	1,832	25.6	+2.2
	Liberal	John Lubbock	1,725	24.1	−2.6
	Liberal	Sydney Waterlow	1,624	22.7	−2.9
Majority			240	3.4	N/A
Majority			208	2.9	N/A
Turnout			3,573 (est)	92.1 (est)	+9.2
Registered electors			3,878
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.9
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+2.6

General election 1885: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Ross	2,184	54.3	+1.2
	Liberal	Martin Hume	1,839	45.7	−1.1
Majority			345	8.6	+5.2
Turnout			4,023	94.1	+2.0 (est)
Registered electors			4,273
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General election 1886: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Henry Ross	1,917	54.5	+0.2
	Liberal	Thomas Proctor Baptie [25]	1,603	45.5	−0.2
Majority			314	9.0	+0.4
Turnout			3,520	82.4	−11.7
Registered electors			4,273
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.2

Ross' death caused a by-election.

F.S.W. Cornwallis

By-election, 14 Dec 1888: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fiennes Cornwallis	2,050	52.4	−2.1
	Liberal	John Barker	1,865	47.6	+2.1
Majority			185	4.8	−4.2
Turnout			3,915	86.6	+4.2
Registered electors			4,519
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fiennes Cornwallis	2,443	60.0	+5.5
	Liberal	Thomas Nussey	1,627	40.0	−5.5
Majority			816	20.0	+11.0
Turnout			4,070	86.1	+3.7
Registered electors			4,729
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

General election 1895: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Hunt	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

1898 Maidstone by-election ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fiennes Cornwallis	2,214	52.1	N/A
	Liberal	John Barker	2,036	47.9	New
Majority			178	4.2	N/A
Turnout			4,250	87.4	N/A
Registered electors			4,865
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1900s

John Barker

General election 1900: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Barker	2,201	50.4	N/A
	Conservative	Fiennes Cornwallis	2,163	49.6	N/A
Majority			38	0.8	N/A
Turnout			4,364	86.1	N/A
Registered electors			5,068
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

• unseated on petition

1901 Maidstone by-election ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Francis Evans	2,375	52.1	+1.7
	Conservative	Thomas Milvain	2,182	47.9	−1.7
Majority			193	4.2	+3.4
Turnout			4,557	88.1	+2.0
Registered electors			5,170
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.7

General election 1906: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart	2,841	51.2	+0.8
	Liberal	Francis Evans	2,709	48.8	-0.8
Majority			132	2.4	N/A
Turnout			5,550	94.5	+8.4
Registered electors			5,870
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+1.6

Elections in the 1910s

Vivian Phillipps

General election January 1910: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Viscount Castlereagh	3,094	52.1	+0.9
	Liberal	Vivian Phillipps	2,847	47.9	−0.9
Majority			247	4.2	+1.8
Turnout			5,941	94.0	-0.5
Registered electors			6,260
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.9

General election December 1910: Maidstone ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Viscount Castlereagh	2,906	50.6	-1.5
	Liberal	Vivian Phillipps	2,836	49.4	+1.5
Majority			70	1.2	-3.0
Turnout			5,742	91.7	−3.3
Registered electors			6,260
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.5

C.W. Bellairs

1915 Maidstone by-election ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	Unopposed
	Unionist hold

General election 1918: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	11,931	65.5	+14.9
	Labour	Frederick Burgess	6,277	34.5	New
Majority			5,654	31.0	+29.8
Turnout			18,208	59.2	−32.5
Registered electors			30,747
	Unionist hold		Swing
Cindicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	8,928	34.6	−30.9
	Liberal	George Foster Clark	8,895	34.4	New
	Labour	Hugh Dalton	8,004	31.0	−3.5
Majority			33	0.2	−30.8
Turnout			25,827	78.5	+19.3
Registered electors			32,916
	Unionist hold		Swing	−13.7

General election 1923: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	11,244	41.9	+7.3
	Liberal	George Foster Clark	9,047	33.7	−0.7
	Labour	Seymour Cocks	6,558	24.4	−6.6
Majority			2,197	8.2	+8.0
Turnout			26,849	78.9	+0.4
Registered electors			34,037
	Unionist hold		Swing	+4.0

General election 1924: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	16,121	66.3	+24.4
	Labour	Seymour Cocks	8,192	33.7	+9.3
Majority			7,929	32.6	+24.4
Turnout			24,313	69.8	−9.1
Registered electors			34,811
	Unionist hold		Swing	+7.6

General election 1929: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Carlyon Bellairs	14,254	40.8	−25.5
	Labour	John Morgan	10,419	29.9	−3.8
	Liberal	Thomas Fairchild Day	10,222	29.3	New
Majority			3,835	10.9	−21.7
Turnout			34,895	77.0	+7.2
Registered electors			45,317
	Unionist hold		Swing	−10.9

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Maidstone ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	27,394	80.2	+39.4
	Labour	Gertrude Speedwell Massingham	6,770	19.8	-10.1
Majority			20,624	60.4	+49.5
Turnout			34,164	72.3	-4.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1935: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	24,644	72.5	-7.7
	Labour	JW MacAlpine	9,340	27.5	+7.7
Majority			15,304	45.0	-15.4
Turnout			33,984	67.4	-4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Alfred Bossom
• Labour: Otto L Shaw ^[28]

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Maidstone ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	21,320	53.3	-19.2
	Labour	Otto Leslie Shaw	18,295	45.7	+18.2
	Democratic	G Murray	416	1.0	New
Majority			3,025	7.6	-37.4
Turnout			40,031	71.0	+3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	-18.7

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Maidstone ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	25,008	51.11
	Labour	Henry Albert White	18,377	37.56
	Liberal	Thomas Frederick Rice	5,546	11.33	New
Majority			6,631	13.55
Turnout			48,931	81.78
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1951: Maidstone ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	27,606	56.61
	Labour	Henry Albert White	21,159	43.39
Majority			6,447	13.22
Turnout			48,765	80.54
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1955: Maidstone ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Bossom	27,267	57.9	+1.3
	Labour	Otto L Shaw	19,861	42.1	-1.3
Majority			7,406	15.8	+2.6
Turnout			47,128	77.08	-10.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1959: Maidstone ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	30,115	60.5	+2.6
	Labour	A B Spencer Soper	19,652	39.5	-2.6
Majority			2,240	21.0	+4.2
Turnout			49,767	78.6	+1.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Maidstone ^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	25,079	46.9	-13.6
	Labour	James Daly	17,143	32.1	-4.4
	Liberal	Stanley Blow	11,244	21.0	New
Majority			7,936	14.8	-6.2
Turnout			53,467	78.0	-0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1966: Maidstone ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	29,208	54.7	+7.8
	Labour	Michael J O'Flaherty	24,214	45.3	+13.2
Majority			4,994	9.4	-5.4
Turnout			53,422	74.3	-3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Maidstone ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	31,316	51.4	-3.3
	Labour	Kenneth M Graham	18,473	30.3	-15.0
	Liberal	Stanley Blow	11,167	18.3	New
Majority			12,843	21.1	+11.7
Turnout			60,959	72.1	-2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Maidstone ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	31,334	44.1	-7.3
	Liberal	Edward Harrison	23,678	33.3	+15.0
	Labour	R Arndell	16,006	22.5	-7.8
Majority			7,656	10.8	-10.3
Turnout			71,014	81.3	+9.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Maidstone ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	28,852	44.2	+0.1
	Liberal	Julian F Burnett	18,581	28.5	-4.8
	Labour	Kenneth M Graham	17,828	27.3	+4.8
Majority			10,271	15.7	+4.9
Turnout			65,260	74.0	-7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Maidstone ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	37,727	52.6	+8.4
	Liberal	Julian F Burnett	16,676	23.2	-5.3
	Labour	Richard Evans	16,632	23.2	-4.1
	National Front	Arthur Dennis Whiting	703	1.0	New
Majority			21,051	29.3	+13.6
Turnout			71,734	77.0	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Maidstone ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wells	26,420	50.9	-1.7
	Alliance	Julian F Burnett	19,194	37.0	+13.8
	Labour	Gordon Carey	6,280	12.1	-11.1
Majority			7,226	13.9	-15.4
Turnout			51,895	73.8	-3.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1987:Maidstone ^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	29,100	52.4	+1.5
	Alliance	Christopher Sutton-Mattocks	18,736	33.8	-3.2
	Labour	Kevin Brooks	6,935	12.5	+0.4
	Green	Penelope Kemp	717	1.3	New
Majority			10,364	18.6	+4.7
Turnout			55,488	76.02	+2.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Maidstone ^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	31,611	54.2	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats	PG Yates	15,325	26.3	−7.5
	Labour	AFH Logan	10,517	18.0	+5.5
	Green	Penelope Kemp	707	1.2	−0.1
	Natural Law	FJ Ingram	172	0.3	New
Majority			16,286	27.9	+9.3
Turnout			58,332	80.1	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.6

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Notes and references

1. Pages 113 to 118, Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
2. "Chap. 23. Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885". The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom passed in the forty-eighth and forty-ninth years of the reign of Queen Victoria. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. 1885. pp.  111–198.
3. "Barham, Nicholas"  . Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
4. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)
6. At the election of 1702, Marsham and Roberts were returned as elected, and their opponents, Sir Thomas Twisden and Thomas Bliss, petitioned against the result. The Commons on investigation found all four candidates guilty of "bribery and other unlawful practices", declared the election void and resolved that no writ for a new election should be issued until the end of the session
7. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp.  166–169. ISBN   0-900178-13-2.
8. Dodd was re-elected in 1852 but the election was declared void on the petition, and a by-election was held
9. "Elections in Kent" . Kentish Gazette. 13 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Maidstone" . Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 10 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Notice to Correspondents" . Sussex Agricultural Express. 4 April 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Cambridge Chronicle and Journal" . 21 May 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
13. Farrell, Stephen. "Maidstone". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
14. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN   978-1-349-02349-3.^{[ page needed ]}
15. "Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser" . 3 July 1841. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "Carlisle Journal" . 27 May 1853. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "Maidstone" . Sussex Advertiser. 17 May 1853. p. 7. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
18. "South Eastern Gazette" . 24 March 1857. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
19. "Nominations" . Morning Chronicle. 28 March 1857. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
20. "Borough of Maidstone" . South Eastern Gazette. 26 April 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
21. "Maidstone" . Kentish Gazette. Kent. 18 July 1865. p. 7. Retrieved 1 March 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
22. "Maidstone Election" . Kentish Independent. 5 March 1870. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
23. "Great Conservative Meeting in Maidstone" . Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser. Kent. 28 September 1868. p. 9. Retrieved 1 March 2018– via British Newspaper Archive.
24. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
25. "The General Election" . Huddersfield Chronicle. 2 July 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 3 December 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
26. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
27. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
28. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
29. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
30. "UK General Election results: October 1959 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
31. "UK General Election results: October 1964 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
32. "UK General Election results: March 1966 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
33. "UK General Election results 1970 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
34. "UK General Election results: February 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
35. "UK General Election results: October 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
36. "UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
37. "UK General Election results: June 1983 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
38. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

Sources

• Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
• D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
• F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
• T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
• J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
• Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
• Robert Waller, The Almanac of British Politics (1st edition, London: Croom Helm, 1983; 5th edition, London: Routledge, 1996)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)