East Thanet is a British parliamentary constituency in the Isle of Thanet in Kent, represented since 2024 by Polly Billington of the Labour Party. The seat previously existed, under the name Thanet East, from 1974 to 1983, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was re-established as East Thanet for the 2024 general election. It is primarily the successor to the former South Thanet parliamentary constituency.[3][4]
| East Thanet | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries from 2024 | |
 Boundary of East Thanet in South East England | |
| County | Kent |
| Electorate | 73,790 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Polly Billington (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | |
| February 1974–1983[a] | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Isle of Thanet |
| Replaced by | South Thanet[2] |
Boundaries
edit1974–1983 (Thanet East)
editThe Borough of Ramsgate, and the Urban District of Broadstairs and St Peter's.
2024–present (East Thanet)
editFollowing the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the District of Thanet wards of Beacon Road, Bradstowe, Central Harbour, Cliffsend & Pegwell, Cliftonville East, Cliftonville West, Dane Valley, Eastcliff, Kingsgate, Margate Central, Nethercourt, Newington, Northwood, St Peters, Salmestone, Sir Moses Montefiore, and Viking.[5]
It comprises those parts of the former constituency of South Thanet in the District of Thanet (85.6% of the electorate), together with three wards from North Thanet, including Central Margate.[4]
Constituency profile
editElectoral Calculus categorises the proposed seat as being part of the "Somewheres" demographic, indicating socially conservative, economically soft left views and strong support for Brexit.[6] The High Speed 1 railway service has stimulated some regeneration of Margate and Ramsgate, with many residents moving to the towns from Greater London.[7]
History
editThe constituency was created for the February 1974 general election, when the former constituency of Isle of Thanet was split in two, and returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when Thanet East and the neighbouring Thanet West constituency were replaced by new North Thanet and South Thanet constituencies.
The constituency name was revived at the 2024 general election, where it effectively replaced the South Thanet constituency, with 81.8% of the electorate of the former South Thanet seat becoming part of the new East Thanet, and 85.6% of the new East Thanet seat having previously belonged to the former South Thanet.[4]
Members of Parliament
editMPs 1974–1983
editIsle of Thanet prior to 1974
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Jonathan Aitken | Conservative | |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | ||
MPs since 2024
editSouth Thanet prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Polly Billington | Labour | |
Elections
editElections in the 2020s
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Polly Billington | 17,054 | 39.9 | +2.3 | |
| Conservative | Helen Harrison | 10,083 | 23.6 | −29.9 | |
| Reform UK | Paul Webb | 8,591 | 20.1 | N/A | |
| Green | Steve Roberts | 4,590 | 10.7 | +7.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jai Singh | 1,365 | 3.2 | −2.0 | |
| Independent | Grahame Birchall | 563 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Paul Holton | 369 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Independent | Mo Shafaei | 98 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 6,971 | 16.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 42,713 | 57.0 | −7.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 74,940 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |  16.1
|
|||
Elections in the 2010s
edit| 2019 notional result[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 25,616 | 53.5 | |
| Labour | 18,031 | 37.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2,486 | 5.2 | |
| Green | 1,791 | 3.7 | |
| Turnout | 47,924 | 64.9 | |
| Electorate | 73,790 | ||
Election results 1974–1983
editElections in the 1970s
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 20,367 | 57.17 | +11.1 | |
| Labour | I Kilberry | 10,128 | 28.43 | −4.6 | |
| Liberal | B Hesketh | 4,755 | 13.35 | −5.6 | |
| National Front | B Dobing | 376 | 1.06 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 10,239 | 28.74 | +15.6 | ||
| Turnout | 35,625 | 72.72 | +1.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 15,813 | 46.10 | −0.8 | |
| Labour | S Bartlett | 11,310 | 32.97 | +0.4 | |
| Liberal | C Hogarth | 6,472 | 18.87 | −4.6 | |
| National Front | K Munson | 708 | 2.06 | New | |
| Majority | 4,503 | 13.13 | −4.1 | ||
| Turnout | 34,302 | 71.55 | −9.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 17,944 | 46.86 | ||
| Labour | Robert Bean | 11,347 | 29.64 | ||
| Liberal | J Cox | 8,997 | 23.50 | ||
| Majority | 6,597 | 17.22 | |||
| Turnout | 38,289 | 80.53 | |||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ As Thanet East
References
edit- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "'Thanet East', Feb 1974 – May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c "Boundary review 2023: Which seats will change in the UK?". House of Commons Library. 20 March 2024.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
- ^ "The Electoral Calculus' profile of East Thanet". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ^ Kent Online https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/greasy-spoons-have-been-replaced-with-chichi-little-bistros-262211/
- ^ "East Thanet Results". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
External links
edit- East Thanet UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK