Isle of Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)

Isle of Thanet
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1885–February 1974
Number of members one
Replaced by Thanet East, Thanet West

Isle of Thanet was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885, until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

It was located on the Isle of Thanet, in Kent.

Boundaries

Between 1918 and 1945 the constituency comprised the Municipal Districts of Margate, Ramsgate and Sandwich, the Urban District of Broadstairs and St Peters and the Rural District of Isle of Thanet.

In 1935 the Rural District of Isle of Thanet was abolished and was merged with the Rural District of Eastry (of which part was in the constituency).

In the boundary changes prior to the 1950 election the MD of Sandwich was transferred to Dover.

The boundary changes of November 1970 resulted in the division of the constituency into two. Thanet East which comprised the Ramsgate MB and Broadstairs & St Peters UD, and Thanet West which comprised the Margate MB and part of Eastry RD.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1885 Edward Robert King-Harman Conservative
1888 b-e James Lowther Conservative
1904 b-e Harry Hananel Marks Conservative
1910 (Jan) Norman Carlyle Craig Conservative
1919 b-e Esmond Harmsworth Unionist
1929 Harold Balfour Conservative
1945 Edward Carson Conservative
1953 b-e William Rees-Davies Conservative
Feb 1974 constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 General Election[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Norman Carlyle Craig 6,892 66.9
Liberal Julian William Wellesley Weigall 3,410 33.1
Majority
Turnout
Unionist hold Swing
1918 General Election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Norman Carlyle Craig unopposed n/a n/a
Unionist hold Swing n/a
Isle of Thanet by-election, 1919[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Hon. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 9,711 57.9 -9.0
Liberal William J West 7,058 42.1 +9.0
Majority 2,653 15.8
Turnout 52.8
Unionist hold Swing -9.0

Elections in the 1920s

1922 General Election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Hon. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 16,116 61.2
Liberal Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor 10,226 38.8
Majority 22.4
Turnout
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1923: Isle of Thanet[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Hon. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 13,821 50.1 -11.1
Liberal Reginald Logan Rait 13,773 49.9 +11.1
Majority 48 0.2 -22.2
Turnout 69.5 +1.1
Unionist hold Swing -11.1
General Election 1924: Isle of Thanet[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Hon. Esmond Cecil Harmsworth 21,130 65.8
Liberal Arthur Fairfax Charles Coryndon Luxmoore 6,779 21.1
Labour Dudley Leigh Aman 4,202 13.1
Majority 14,351 44.7
Turnout 77.6
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1929: Isle of Thanet[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Harold Harington Balfour 22,595 52.9
Liberal Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor 15,648 36.6
Labour E J Plaisted 4,490 10.5
Majority 6,947 16.3
Turnout 73.3
Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Isle of Thanet[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harold Harington Balfour 33,173 74.2
Liberal George Ivor Phillips 11,517 25.8
Majority 21,656 48.5
Turnout 44,690 73.6
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1935: Isle of Thanet[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Harold Harington Balfour unknown n/a n/a
Conservative hold Swing n/a

General Election 1939/40

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Isle of Thanet [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lt. Hon. Edward Carson 15,023 48.7 N/A
Labour Maj. Thomas Christopher Boyd 12,075 39.2 N/A
Liberal Fl-Lt. PJ Willmett 3,732 12.1 N/A
Majority 2,948 9.5 N/A
Turnout 30,830 69.2 N/A
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Isle of Thanet [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hon. Edward Carson 31,345 55.5
Labour Thomas Christopher Boyd 20,522 36.4
Liberal Charles John Verschoyk Wrong 4,561 8.1
Majority 10,823 19.1
Turnout 56,431 83.0
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1951: Isle of Thanet [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hon. Edward Carson 33,551 61.6
Labour Otto Leslie Shaw 20,892 38.4
Majority 12,659 23.2
Turnout 54,444 78.0
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1955: Isle of Thanet [15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Rupert Rees-Davies 31,270 62.2
Labour Kingston Jones 18,981 37.8
Majority 12,289 24.4
Turnout 50,251 71.9
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1959: Isle of Thanet [16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Rupert Rees-Davies 29,453 54.5
Labour Henry Arthur Fountain 17,555 32.5
Liberal George Edward MacDonald-Jones 6,998 13.0 n/a
Majority 11,898 22.0
Turnout 54,007 75.1
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Isle of Thanet [17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Rupert Rees-Davies 27,870 47.7
Labour Ernest Wistrich 20,520 35.2
Liberal David Norrington 9,979 17.1
Majority 7,350 12.5
Turnout 58,369 74.2
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1966: Isle of Thanet [18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Rupert Rees-Davies 29,302 47.5
Labour Leonard John A Bishop 24,416 39.6
Liberal Frederick G Redman 7,952 12.9
Majority 4,886 7.9
Turnout 61,670 75.7
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Isle of Thanet [19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Rupert Rees-Davies 33,434 51.9
Labour Leonard John A Bishop 21,709 33.7
Liberal Tudor David Gates 7,176 11.1
Independent Conservative Ian Josephs 2,136 3.3
Majority 11,725 18.2
Turnout 64,458 72.2
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  2. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  3. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  4. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  7. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  9. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  10. ↑ The Liberal Magazine, 1939
  11. ↑ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  12. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949 by FWS Craig
  13. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  14. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  15. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  16. ↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
  17. ↑ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1973; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1973
  18. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  19. ↑ British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig