Weald of Kent | |
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County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundaries since 2024 | |
![]() Boundary of Weald of Kent in South East England | |
County | Kent |
Electorate | 70,110 (2023) [1] |
Major settlements | Tenterden, Cranbrook, Coxheath, Staplehurst |
Current constituency | |
Created | 2024 |
Member of Parliament | Katie Lam (Conservative) |
Seats | One |
Created from |
Weald of Kent is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. [2] Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. The current MP is Katie Lam.
This is one of the most rural seats in the South East, unlike its neighbours which each include at least one large town. House prices and incomes are significantly above UK averages. Electoral Calculus characterises the proposed seat as "Strong Right", with right-wing economic and social views, high home ownership levels and strong support for Brexit. [3]
Under the 2023 review, the constituency was defined as comprising the following, as they existed on 1 December 2020:
Following local government boundary reviews in Maidstone [5] and Tunbridge Wells [6] which came into effect in May 2024, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
The seat is a mostly rural area in the centre of Kent, including Tenterden, Coxheath, Staplehurst, Headcorn and Cranbrook. The seat was previously part of the Ashford, Maidstone and the Weald, and Faversham and Mid Kent constituencies.
Ashford and Maidstone and the Weald prior to 2024
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Katie Lam | Conservative |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Katie Lam | 20,202 | 39.8 | –32.2 | |
Labour | Lenny Rolles | 11,780 | 23.2 | +9.1 | |
Reform UK | Daniel Kersten | 10,208 | 20.1 | N/A | |
Green | Kate Walder | 4,547 | 9.0 | +5.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | John Howson | 3,975 | 7.8 | −2.3 | |
Majority | 8,422 | 16.6 | –41.3 | ||
Turnout | 50,712 | 66.7 | –4.1 | ||
Registered electors | 75,988 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | –20.7 |
2019 notional result [9] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Vote | % | |
Conservative | 35,730 | 72.0 | |
Labour | 6,979 | 14.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | 5,018 | 10.1 | |
Green | 1,925 | 3.9 | |
Turnout | 49,652 | 70.8 | |
Electorate | 70,110 |
The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells. The borough also contains the towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Large parts of the borough fall within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone, the county town of Kent.
Sissinghurst is a small village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. Originally called Milkhouse Street, Sissinghurst changed its name in the 1850s, possibly to avoid association with the smuggling and cockfighting activities of the Hawkhurst Gang. It is in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst.
The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It is named after its largest town, Ashford, where the council is based. The borough also includes the town of Tenterden and an extensive surrounding rural area including numerous villages; with an area of 580 square kilometres (220 sq mi), it is the largest district in Kent. Parts of the borough lie within the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of High Weald and the Kent Downs.
Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone.
Sutton Valence is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand Ridge overlooking the Vale of Kent and Weald. St Mary's Church is on the west side of the village on Chart Road, close to the junction of the High Street with the A274. Another landmark is Sutton Valence Castle on the east side of the village, of which only the ruins of the 12th-century keep remain, under the ownership of English Heritage.
Headcorn railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Headcorn, Kent. It is 45 miles 20 chains (72.8 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.
Ashford is a constituency in Kent created in 1885 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Sojan Joseph of the Labour Party.
Maidstone and The Weald was a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. From the 2010 general election it was represented by Helen Grant of the Conservative Party. She succeeded fellow party member Ann Widdecombe, who had held the seat since it was created for the 1997 general election.
Tunbridge Wells is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Mike Martin, a Liberal Democrat.
Faversham and Mid Kent is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2015, the seat has been held by Helen Whately of the Conservative Party.
The ceremonial county of Kent,, is divided into 18 parliamentary constituencies - 2 borough constituency and 16 county constituencies.
Chart Sutton is a civil parish and small village on the edge of the Weald of Kent, England. It lies approximately 5 miles (8 km) to the south of Maidstone.
The TN postcode area, also known as the Tunbridge Wells postcode area, is a group of 40 postcode districts in England, within 24 post towns. These cover south and west Kent and northern and eastern East Sussex, plus very small parts of Surrey and the London Borough of Bromley.
The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway in South East England.
Staplehurst is a town and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England, 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Maidstone and with a population of 5,947. The town lies on the route of a Roman road, which is now incorporated into the course of the A229. The name Staplehurst comes from the Old English 'stapol' meaning a 'post, pillar' and 'hyrst', as a 'wooded hill'; therefore, 'wooded-hill at a post', a possible reference to a boundary marker at the position of All Saints' church atop the hill along the road from Maidstone to Cranbrook. The parish includes the hamlet of Hawkenbury.
The Cranbrook and Tenterden Light Railway was a railway line which was to have linked the Hawkhurst Branch Line with the Rother Valley Railway in Kent. Although it received authorisation for its construction, only a short section of it was ever built. This section is open today as part of the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
Maidstone and Malling is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. It was created under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, and was first contested in the 2024 general election. It is represented by Helen Grant of the Conservatives, who was MP for the predecessor seat of Maidstone and the Weald from 2010 to 2024.