Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)
Dartford
County constituency
DartfordConstituency.svg
EnglandKent.svg
Dartford shown within Kent, and Kent shown within England
Created: 1885
MP: Howard Stoate
Party: Labour
Type: House of Commons
County: Kent
EP constituency: South East England

Dartford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

It was the first seat contested by Margaret Thatcher (then known as Margaret Roberts), at the 1950 and 1951 general elections.

Contents

Boundaries

As its name suggests, the main settlement in the constituency is the town of Dartford, but it also includes a number of other towns and villages including Swanscombe, Longfield, Greenhithe, and Wilmington. These all add up to create a diverse constituency which covers both urban and rural areas.

The population of the constituency currently stands at around 90,000 people, around 8,000 of whom fall under the local borough of Sevenoaks, with the remainder living in the borough of Dartford. The constituency is located on the border with the London borough of Bexley, with whom at one time it shared an MP.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England has made major changes to the existing constituency boundaries as a consequence of population changes. The existing Dartford constituency has been maintained, with the following electoral wards used in its formation:

  • The entire borough of Dartford
  • The Sevenoaks ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street

Members of Parliament

Since the 1960s Dartford has been a key Labour-Tory marginal seat, with the party winning it going on to form the government. The constituency's MP since 1997 is Howard Stoate of the Labour Party, who is standing down at the next general election[1].

Election Member Party
1885 Sir William Hart Dyke Conservative
1906 James Rowlands Liberal
Jan 1910 William Foot Mitchell Conservative
Dec 1910 James Rowlands Liberal
1920 by-election John Edmund Mills Labour
1922 George William Symonds Jarrett Constitutionalist
1923 John Edmund Mills Labour
1924 Angus McDonnell Conservative
1929 John Edmund Mills Labour
1931 Frank Edward Clarke Conservative
1938 by-election Janet Adamson Labour
1945 constituency split, with half becoming the new Bexley seat
1945 Norman Dodds Labour Co-operative
1955 Sydney Irving Labour Co-operative
1970 Peter Trew Conservative
Feb 1974 Sydney Irving Labour Co-operative
1979 Bob Dunn Conservative
1997 Howard Stoate Labour

Elections

Confirmed candidates for the next UK general election [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Adams
Conservative Gareth Johnson
English Democrats Gary Rogers
General Election 2005: Dartford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Howard Stoate 19,909 42.6 -5.4
Conservative Gareth Johnson 19,203 41.1 +0.5
Liberal Democrat Peter Bucklitsch 5,036 10.8 +2.3
UKIP Mark Croucher 1,407 3.0 +0.8
English Democrats Michael Tibby 1,224 2.6 +2.6
Majority 706 1.5
Turnout 46,779 63.2 1.3
Labour hold Swing -2.9
General Election 2001: Dartford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Howard Stoate 21,466 48.0 -0.6
Conservative Bob Dunn 18,160 40.6 +0.3
Liberal Democrat Graham Morgan 3,781 8.5 -0.9
UKIP Mark Croucher 989 2.2 N/A
Fancy Dress Party Keith Davenport 344 0.8 +0.3
Majority 3,306 7.4
Turnout 44,740 61.9 -12.7
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1997: Dartford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Howard Stoate 25,278 48.6 +12.4
Conservative Bob Dunn 20,950 40.3 -10.6
Liberal Democrat Dorothy Webb 4,872 9.4 -2.8
BNP Paul McHale 424 0.8 N/A
Fancy Dress Party Peter Homden 287 0.5 +0.1
Christian Democrat James Pollitt 228 0.4 N/A
Majority 4,328 8.3
Turnout 52,039 74.6
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
General Election 1992: Dartford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Dunn 31,194 51.9 -1.6
Labour Howard Stoate 20,880 34.7 +7.2
Liberal Democrat Peter Bryden 7,584 12.6 -5.6
Fancy Dress Party A Munro 262 0.4 -0.4
Natural Law Angela Holland 241 0.4 N/A
Majority 10,314 17.2
Turnout 60,161 83.1
Conservative hold Swing

See also

v • d • e
Constituencies in South East England
Conservative
Aldershot · Arundel and South Downs · Ashford · Aylesbury · Banbury · Basingstoke · Beaconsfield · Bexhill and Battle · Bognor Regis and Littlehampton · Bracknell · Canterbury · Chesham and Amersham · Chichester · East Hampshire · East Surrey · East Worthing and Shoreham · Eastbourne · Epsom and Ewell · Esher and Walton · Fareham · Faversham and Mid Kent · Folkestone and Hythe · Gosport · Gravesham · Guildford · Havant · Henley · Horsham · Isle of Wight · Maidenhead · Maidstone and The Weald · Mid Sussex · Mole Valley · New Forest East · New Forest West · Newbury · North East Hampshire · North East Milton Keynes · North Thanet · North West Hampshire · Reading East · Reigate · Runnymede and Weybridge · Sevenoaks · South West Surrey · Spelthorne · Surrey Heath · Tonbridge and Malling · Tunbridge Wells · Wantage · Wealden · Windsor · Witney · Woking · Wokingham · Worthing West · Wycombe
Labour
Liberal Democrat
Speaker
South East European constituency: Conservative (4) · UKIP (2) · Liberal Democrats (2) · Green (1) · Labour (1)

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8173135.stm
  2. ^ Dartford, UKPollingReport

Coordinates: 51°25′N 0°15′E / 51.417°N 0.25°E / 51.417; 0.25

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