Parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Not to be confused with List of Members of Parliament in Kent.

The ceremonial county of Kent, (which includes the unitary authority of Medway), is divided into 18 parliamentary constituencies - 2 borough constituency and 16 county constituencies.

Constituencies

Further information: 2024 United Kingdom general election

  Conservative †   Labour ‡   Liberal Democrats ¤   Reform

Constituency[nb 1]	Electorate	Majority[1][nb 2]	Member of Parliament[1]		Nearest opposition[1]		Map
Ashford CC	76,233	1,779		Sojan Joseph ‡		Damian Green †
Canterbury CC	71,155	8,653		Rosie Duffield (re-elected as Labour)		Louise Harvey-Quirke †
Chatham and Aylesford CC	75,109	1,998		Tris Osborne ‡		Nathan Gamester †
Dartford CC	75,426	1,192		Jim Dickson ‡		Gareth Johnson †
Dover and Deal CC	76,406	7,559		Mike Tapp ‡		Howard Cox ‡
East Thanet BC	74,927	6,971		Polly Billington ‡		Helen Harrison †
Faversham and Mid Kent CC	74,301	1,469		Helen Whately †		Mel Dawkins ‡
Folkestone and Hythe CC	70,056	3,729		Tony Vaughan ‡		Damian Collins †
Gillingham and Rainham BC	73,523	3,972		Naushabah Khan ‡		Rehman Chishti †
Gravesham CC	73,094	2,712		Lauren Sullivan ‡		Adam Holloway †
Herne Bay and Sandwich CC	77,869	2,499		Roger Gale †		Helen Whitehead ‡
Maidstone and Malling CC	76,449	1,674		Helen Grant †		Maureen Cleator ‡
Rochester and Strood CC	74,257	2,293		Lauren Edwards ‡		Kelly Tolhurst †
Sevenoaks CC	73,708	5,440		Laura Trott †		Richard Streatfeild ¤
Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC	79,067	355		Kevin McKenna ‡		Aisha Cuthbert †
Tonbridge CC	72,799	11,166		Tom Tugendhat †		Lewis Bailey ‡
Tunbridge Wells CC	78,738	8,687		Mike Martin ¤		Neil Mahapatra †
Weald of Kent CC	75,987	8,422		Katie Lam †		Lenny Rolles ‡

Boundary changes

2024

See 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies for further details.

Former name	Boundaries 2010-2024	Current name	Boundaries 2024–present
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	2010-2024 constituencies in Kent	Ashford CC Canterbury CC Chatham and Aylesford CC Dartford CC Dover and Deal CC East Thanet CC Faversham and Mid Kent CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham and Rainham BC Gravesham CC Herne Bay and Sandwich CC Maidstone and Malling CC Rochester and Strood CC Sevenoaks CC Sittingbourne and Sheppey CC Tonbridge CC Tunbridge Wells CC Weald of Kent CC	2024-present constituencies in Kent

For the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which redrew the constituency map ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for England created an additional seat in created in Kent to reflect the growth of its electorate, with the formation of the constituency of Weald of Kent. As a consequence, Maidstone and the Weald, and Tonbridge and Malling were renamed Maidstone and Malling, and Tonbridge respectively. Changes to North Thanet and South Thanet resulted in them being renamed Herne Bay and Sandwich, and Thanet East respectively. Although only subject to a very minor boundary change, Dover reverted to its previous name of Dover and Deal.[2][3][4]

The following constituencies resulted from the boundary review:

Containing electoral wards from Ashford

• Ashford (part)
• Weald of Kent (part)

Containing electoral wards from Canterbury

• Canterbury
• Herne Bay and Sandwich (part)

Containing electoral wards from Dartford

• Dartford
• Sevenoaks (part)

Containing electoral wards from Dover

• Dover and Deal
• Herne Bay and Sandwich (part)

Containing electoral wards from Folkestone and Hythe

• Ashford (part)
• Folkestone and Hythe

Containing electoral wards from Gravesham

• Gravesham

Containing electoral wards from Maidstone

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

Containing electoral wards from Medway

• Chatham and Aylesford (part)
• Gillingham and Rainham
• Rochester and Strood

Containing electoral wards from Sevenoaks

• Sevenoaks (part)
• Tonbridge (part)

Containing electoral wards from Swale

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

Containing electoral wards from Thanet

• East Thanet
• Herne Bay and Sandwich (part)

Containing electoral wards from Tonbridge and Malling

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

Containing electoral wards from Tunbridge Wells

• Tunbridge Wells
• Weald of Kent (part)

2010

Under the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England[5] 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.

Name (1997–2010)	Boundaries 1997–2010	Name (2010–2024)	Boundaries 2010–2024
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

1997

Under the Fourth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England opted to increase the number of constituencies in Kent from 16 to 17, reflecting the growth of the county's electorate. The "new" constituency, i.e. the constituency that did not contain a majority of any previous constituency's electorate, was Faversham & Mid Kent, which was formed from portions of the previous Maidstone, Faversham, Mid Kent and Canterbury constituencies. This had knock-on effects throughout the county, and resulted in the renaming of the former constituencies of Faversham and Mid Kent to Sittingbourne & Sheppey and Chatham & Aylesford, respectively.[6][7]

Name (1983–1997)	Boundaries 1983–1997	Name (1997–2010)	Boundaries 1997–2010
Ashford CC Canterbury CC Dartford CC Dover CC Faversham CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham BC Gravesham CC Maidstone CC Medway CC Mid Kent CC North Thanet CC Sevenoaks CC South Thanet CC Tonbridge and Malling CC Tunbridge Wells CC	Parliamentary constituencies in Kent (1983–1997)	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 (1997–2010)

1983

Under the Third Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the Boundary Commission for England opted to increase the number of constituencies in Kent from 15 to 16, reflecting the growth of the county's electorate. This resulted in the previously oversized Rochester and Chatham being split in half, with the city of Rochester becoming part of the new seat of Medway, along with the rural Hoo Peninsula (previously part of the Gravesend constituency) while town of Chatham became part of the new seat of Mid Kent, along with the northern portion of Maidstone. Thanet East (renamed North Thanet) and Thanet West (renamed South Thanet) gained parts of Canterbury and Dover and Deal (renamed Dover) respectively. Small transfer from Sevenoaks to Dartford to make their electorates more equal and minor or no changes to Ashford, Faversham, Folkestone and Hythe, Gillingham, Tonbridge and Malling, and Tunbridge Wells.[8][9]

Name (1974–1983)	Boundaries 1974–1983	Name (1983–1997)	Boundaries 1983–1997
Ashford CC Canterbury CC Dartford CC Dover and Deal CC Faversham CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham BC Gravesham CC Maidstone CC Rochester and Chatham CC North Thanet CC Sevenoaks CC Thanet West CC Tonbridge and Malling CC Tunbridge Wells CC	Parliamentary constituencies in Kent (1974–1983)	Ashford CC Canterbury CC Dartford CC Dover CC Faversham CC Folkestone and Hythe CC Gillingham BC Gravesham CC Maidstone CC Medway CC Mid Kent CC North Thanet CC Sevenoaks CC South Thanet CC Tonbridge and Malling CC Tunbridge Wells CC	Parliamentary constituencies in Kent (1983–1997)

Results history

Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019[10]

2024

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 2019	Seats	Change from 2019
Conservative	251,860	31.3%	28.8%	6	10
Labour	249,043	31.0%	6.0%	11	10
Reform	168,652	21.0%	21.0%	0	0
Greens	64,303	8.0%	4.8%	0	0
Liberal Democrats	57,579	7.0%	3.4%	1	1
Others	13,059	1.6%	0.3%	0	0
Total	804,496	100.0		18	1

Percentage votes

Election year	1974 (Feb)	1974 (Oct)	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005	2010	2015	2017	2019	2024
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	31.3
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	31.0
Reform^1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	21.0
Green Party	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	1.0	3.6	2.2	3.2	8.0
Liberal Democrat^2	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	7.0
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	1.6

^12019 - Brexit Party
^21974 & 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	2024
Labour	2	3	0	0	0	0	8	8	7	0	0	1	1	11
Conservative	13	12	15	16	16	16	9	9	10	17	17	16	16	6
Liberal Democrats	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Total	15	15	15	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	18

Maps

1885-1910

• 
  1885
• 
  1886
• 
  1892
• 
  1895
• 
  1900
• 
  1906
• 
  Jan 1910
• 
  Dec 1910

1918-1945

• 
  1918
• 
  1922
• 
  1923
• 
  1924
• 
  1929
• 
  1931
• 
  1935
• 
  1945

1950-1970

• 
  1950
• 
  1951
• 
  1955
• 
  1959
• 
  1964
• 
  1966
• 
  1970

1974-present

• 
  Feb 1974
• 
  Oct 1974
• 
  1979
• 
  1983
• 
  1987
• 
  1992
• 
  1997
• 
  2001
• 
  2005
• 
  2010
• 
  2015
• 
  2017
• 
  2019
• 
  2024

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	1951	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 2010

  Conservative   Independent   Labour

Constituency	Feb 1974	Oct 1974	1979	1983	1987	1992	1997	2001	2005
Ashford	Deedes	Speed					Green
Canterbury	D. Crouch				Brazier
Dartford	Irving		Dunn				Stoate
Dover & Deal / Dover (1983–)	Rees				Shaw		Prosser
Faversham / Sittingbourne & Sheppey (1997)	Moate						Wyatt
Folkestone and Hythe	Costain			Howard
Gillingham	Burden			Couchman			P. Clark
Gravesend / Gravesham (1983)	Ovenden		Brinton		Arnold		Pond		Holloway
Maidstone / Maidstone & The Weald (1997)	Wells				Widdecombe
Rochester & Chatham / Medway (1983)	Fenner	Bean	Fenner				Marshall-Andrews
Sevenoaks	Rodgers		Wolfson				Fallon
Thanet W / North Thanet (1983)	Rees-Davies			Gale
Tonbridge & Malling	Hornby	Stanley
Thanet East / South Thanet (1983)	Aitken						Ladyman
Tunbridge Wells	Mayhew						Norman		G. Clark
Mid Kent / Faversham & Mid Kent (1997)				Rowe				Robertson
Chatham and Aylesford							Shaw

2010 to present

  Conservative   Independent   Labour   Liberal Democrats   UKIP

Constituency	2010	14	2015	2017	17	18	19	2019	24	2024	24
Ashford	Green									Joseph
Canterbury	Brazier			Duffield							→
Chatham and Aylesford	T. Crouch									Osborne
Dartford	Johnson									Dickson
Dover / Dover and Deal (2024)	C. Elphicke				→	→	→	N. Elphicke	→	Tapp
Faversham & Mid Kent	Robertson		Whately
Folkestone and Hythe	Collins									Vaughan
Gillingham & Rainham	Chishti									Khan
Gravesham	Holloway									Sullivan
Maidstone & The Weald / M'stone & Malling ('24)	Grant
North Thanet / Herne Bay & Sandwich (2024)	Gale
Rochester & Strood	Reckless	→	Tolhurst							Edwards
Sevenoaks	Fallon							Trott
Sittingbourne and Sheppey	Henderson									McKenna
South Thanet / East Thanet (2024)	Sandys		Mackinlay							Billington
Tonbridge & Malling / Tonbridge (2024)	Stanley			Tugendhat
Tunbridge Wells	G. Clark									Martin
Weald of Kent										Lam

See also

• Parliamentary constituencies in South East England

Notes

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

References

1. "Constituencies A-Z - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
2. "New Constituency Proposed for Kent". Kent Bylines. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
3. Bailes, Kathy (8 June 2021). "Boundary changes proposed for Thanet with East and West constituencies". The Isle Of Thanet News. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
4. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report". Boundary Commission for England. paras 1025-1053. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
5. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 2007". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995". legislation.gov.uk. 28 June 1995. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
7. Waller, Robert; Byron Criddle (1995). The Almanac of British Politics (5th ed.). London: Routledge. p. 356. ISBN 0-415-11805-0.
8. "The Parliamentary Constituencies ( England) Order 1983".
9. Waller, Robert (April 1983). The Almanac of British Politics (1st ed.). London: Croom Helm. pp. 373–388. ISBN 0-7099-2767-3.
10. Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019".