North Thanet
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of North Thanet in Kent
Outline map
Location of Kent within England
CountyKent
Electorate67,110 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsMargate and Herne Bay
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentSir Roger Gale (Conservative)
SeatsOne
Created fromThanet West, Thanet East

North Thanet is a constituency[n 1] in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1983 creation by Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative.[n 2]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to moderate boundary changes and will be renamed Herne Bay and Sandwich, to be first contested at the next general election.[2]

History

North Thanet and South Thanet were created by a rearrangement of the former Thanet West and Thanet East constituencies in 1983, which in turn had been created in 1974 by the splitting of the single Isle of Thanet seat. Apart from 1997, when it was marginal, the seat has to date been a safe seat for the Conservative Party.

The third-placed opponent in the 1983 election, for Labour, was Cherie Blair whose husband Tony Blair, was Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007. He entered Parliament that same year, representing Sedgefield: the couple are said to have had a pact that whichever one of them became an MP first would be the one to pursue that career, and not the other. Cherie thus continued with her legal career whilst Tony was an MP.

Constituency profile

Tourism forms an important economic activity with sandy beaches, particularly at Margate: among the main attractions, the seat has a small amount of fishing relative to the 19th century or major ports of North East and Scotland. It also has a slightly higher proportion of retired people than the national average[3] and incomes tending to be clustered towards the national mean.[4] Economic developments have included the Thanet Offshore Wind Project, as well as commercial, recreational and tourism activities. Manston Airport is now closed but is subject to competing development plans, including reopening the airport for freight terminal or alternatively as a mixed development business park. In unemployment terms the claimant count was third highest of the South East's 84 constituencies at the end of 2010.[n 3][5]

Boundaries

1983–2010: The District of Thanet wards of Birchington East, Birchington West, Cecil, Cliftonville, Dane Park, Ethelbert, Margate West, Marine, Northdown Park, Pier, Salmestone, Thanet Parishes, and Westgate-on-Sea, and the City of Canterbury wards of Herne, Heron, Reculver, and West Bay.

2010–present: The District of Thanet wards of Birchington North, Birchington South, Dane Valley, Garlinge, Margate Central, Salmestone, Thanet Villages, Westbrook, and Westgate-on-Sea, and the City of Canterbury wards of Greenhill and Eddington, Herne and Broomfield, Heron, Marshside, Reculver, and West Bay.

North Thanet consists of the northern and western parts of Thanet district (most of Margate, apart from the Cliftonville area), Westgate-on-Sea, Birchington-on-Sea, and several villages including Acol, St Nicholas-at-Wade, Minster, Manston, Monkton and Sarre) as well as the town of Herne Bay in the City of Canterbury district.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[6] Party
1983 Sir Roger Gale Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Thanet[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 30,066 62.4 +6.2
Labour Coral Jones 12,877 26.7 –7.3
Liberal Democrats Angie Curwen 3,439 7.1 +3.8
Green Robert Edwards 1,796 3.7 +2.0
Majority 17,189 35.7 +13.5
Turnout 48,178 66.2 –0.4
Conservative hold Swing +6.8
General election 2017: North Thanet[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 27,163 56.2 +7.2
Labour Frances Rehal 16,425 34.0 +16.1
UKIP Clive Egan 2,198 4.5 –21.2
Liberal Democrats Martyn Pennington 1,586 3.3 –0.2
Green Ed Targett 825 1.7 –2.0
CPA Iris White 128 0.3 New
Majority 10,738 22.2 –1.1
Turnout 48,325 66.6 –3.5
Conservative hold Swing –4.5
General election 2015: North Thanet[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 23,045 49.0 −3.7
UKIP Piers Wauchope[12] 12,097 25.7 +19.2
Labour Frances Rehal 8,411 17.9 −3.6
Green Edward Targett 1,719 3.7 New
Liberal Democrats George Cunningham 1,645 3.5 −15.9
Majority 10,948 23.3 -8.9
Turnout 47,053 70.1 +6.9
Conservative hold Swing −3.7
General election 2010: North Thanet[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale[15] 22,826 52.7 +4.7
Labour Michael Britton 9,298 21.5 −11.1
Liberal Democrats Laura Murphy 8,400 19.4 +3.8
UKIP Rosamund Parker 2,819 6.5 +2.6
Majority 13,528 31.2 +15.8
Turnout 43,343 63.2 +3.1
Conservative hold Swing +7.9

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Thanet[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 21,699 49.6 −0.7
Labour Iris Johnston 14,065 32.2 −2.2
Liberal Democrats Mark Barnard 6,279 14.4 +3.4
UKIP Timothy Stocks 1,689 3.9 +1.6
Majority 7,634 17.4 +1.5
Turnout 43,732 60.1 +1.1
Conservative hold Swing +0.8
General election 2001: North Thanet[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 21,050 50.3 +6.2
Labour James Laing 14,400 34.4 −4.0
Liberal Democrats Seth Proctor 4,603 11.0 −0.4
UKIP John Moore 980 2.3 +1.4
Independent David Shortt 440 1.1 New
National Front Tom Holmes 395 0.9 New
Majority 6,650 15.9 +10.2
Turnout 41,868 59.0 −9.8
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Thanet[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 21,586 44.1 −13.1
Labour Iris Johnston 18,820 38.4 +14.9
Liberal Democrats Paul Kendrick 5,576 11.4 −6.3
Referendum Marcus Chambers 2,535 5.2 New
UKIP Jean Haines 438 0.9 New
Majority 2,766 5.7 -28.0
Turnout 48,955 68.8 -7.2
Conservative hold Swing −14.0
General election 1992: North Thanet[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 30,867 57.2 −0.8
Labour Alan Bretman 12,657 23.5 +6.8
Liberal Democrats Joanna Phillips 9,563 17.7 −5.6
Green Hazel Dawe 873 1.6 −0.4
Majority 18,210 33.7 −1.0
Turnout 53,960 76.0 +3.8
Conservative hold Swing −3.8

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: North Thanet[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 29,225 58.0 −0.4
SDP Nicholas Cranston 11,745 23.3 −3.4
Labour Alan Bretman 8,395 16.7 +2.6
Green David Condor 996 2.0 New
Majority 17,480 34.7 +3.0
Turnout 50,361 72.2 +2.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1983: North Thanet[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Gale 26,801 58.4
SDP William MacMillan 12,256 26.7
Labour Cherie Blair 6,482 14.1
BNP Brian Dobing 324 0.7
Majority 14,051 31.7
Turnout 45,863 70.0
Conservative win (new seat)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. ↑ As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
  3. ↑ Above this were South Thanet and Hastings and Rye

References

  1. ↑ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "2001 Census". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
  6. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
  7. ↑ "Thanet North Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "Thanet North parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "General election results 2017 for South and North Thanet".
  10. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Thanet North parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "North Thanet". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ↑ North Thanet, Guardian
  15. ↑ Gale reselected for Thanet North, This is Kent
  16. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  21. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

51°22.5′N 1°16′E / 51.3750°N 1.267°E / 51.3750; 1.267

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