Folkestone and Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)

Folkestone and Hythe
County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Folkestone and Hythe in Kent.

Location of Kent within England.
County Kent
Electorate 84,156 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements Folkestone and Hythe
Current constituency
Created 1950 (1950)
Member of Parliament Damian Collins (Conservative)
Number of members One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency South East England

Folkestone and Hythe 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.

Contents

Boundaries

It consists of the towns of Folkestone and Hythe, in Kent in the south east of England. Its boundaries are the same as that of Shepway District. As well as the urban area around Folkestone and Hythe, it also contains the more rural communities of New Romney, Lydd, Dymchurch, Lyminge and Elham.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England has made major changes to the constituency boundaries in the county as a consequence of population changes.

This modified constituency will be formed from the entire district of Shepway and the Ashford electoral ward of Saxon Shore, the swathe of villages southeast of Ashford between Ruckinge and Hastingleigh.

Members of Parliament

The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Damian Collins of the Conservative Party, who was elected at the 2010 general election. Collins' predecessor in the seat was Michael Howard, who represented the constituency from 1983 to 2010. Howard held a number of political posts during his career in Parliament, most prominently as Home Secretary from 1993 to 1997 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005.

Election Member [2] Party
1950 Harry Ripley Mackeson Conservative
1959 Sir Albert Costain Conservative
1983 Michael Howard Conservative
2010 Damian Collins Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Folkestone and Hythe [3][4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Damian Collins 26,109 49.4 -4.5
Liberal Democrat Lynne Beaumont 15,987 30.3 +0.7
Labour Donald Worsley 5,719 10.8 -1.8
UKIP Frank McKenna 2,439 4.6 +3.3
BNP Harry Williams 1,662 3.1 N/A
Green Penny Kemp 637 1.2 -0.3
Independent David Plumstead 247 0.5 +0.5
Majority 10,122 19.2
Turnout 52,800 67.7 -1.0
Conservative hold Swing +2.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Folkestone and Hythe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Howard 26,161 53.9 +8.9
Liberal Democrat Peter Carroll 14,481 29.9 -2.2
Labour Maureen Tomison 6,053 12.5 -7.7
Green Hazel Dawe 688 1.4 +1.4
UKIP Petrina Holdsworth 619 1.3 -1.3
Monster Raving Loony Lord Toby Jug 175 0.4 +0.4
Get Britain Back Rodney Hylton-Potts 153 0.3 +0.3
Senior Citizens Party Grahame Leon-Smith 151 0.3 +0.3
Peace and Progress Sylvia Dunn 22 0.0 0.0
Majority 11,680 24.1
Turnout 48,503 68.4 4.3
Conservative hold Swing +5.6
General Election 2001: Folkestone and Hythe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Howard 20,645 45.0 +6.0
Liberal Democrat Peter Carroll 14,738 32.1 +5.2
Labour Albert Catterall 9,260 20.2 -4.7
UKIP John Baker 1,212 2.6 +1.9
Majority 5,907 12.9
Turnout 45,855 64.1 -8.7
Conservative hold Swing -0.4

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Folkestone and Hythe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Howard 20,313 39.0 -13.3
Liberal Democrat David Laws 13,981 26.9 -8.4
Labour Peter Doherty 12,939 24.9 +12.8
Referendum Party John Aspinall 4,188 8.0 N/A
UKIP John Baker 378 0.7 N/A
Socialist Alliance Eric Segal 182 0.4 N/A
Country Field and Shooting Sports Raymond Saint 69 0.1 N/A
Majority 6,332 12.2 -4.8
Turnout 52,050 72.7 -6.9
Conservative hold Swing -2.5
General Election 1992: Folkestone and Hythe[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Howard 27,437 52.3 −3.0
Liberal Democrat Mrs Linda W. Cufley 18,527 35.3 −1.9
Labour Peter Doherty 6,347 12.1 +4.7
Natural Law AR Hobbs 123 0.2 N/A
Majority 8,910 17.0 −1.1
Turnout 52,434 79.6 +1.3
Conservative hold Swing −0.6

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/electoral-figures/electoral-figures.htm. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "F"
  3. ^ Election result, 2010 (UKPollingReport)
  4. ^ Election result, 2010 (BBC)
  5. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge92/ge92index.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 

Sources

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Chingford and Woodford Green		 Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition
2003–2005		 Succeeded by
Witney
Constituencies in South East England (84)
Conservative (74)
Labour (4)
Liberal Democrats (4)
Green (1)
Speaker (1)