Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)

Dartford
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Dartford in Kent.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Electorate	74,756 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Dartford
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Gareth Johnson (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	West Kent
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Dartford is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]} The constituency is currently the longest serving 'bellwether' constituency in the UK Parliament as the party of the winning candidate has gone on to form the government in every General Election since 1964.^[2]

History

The seat was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. This Act added a net 18 seats, but its main purpose was to correct the over-representation of minor, often still old boroughs and depopulated county divisions. In their place were created new seats with a larger population. In Kent the Act finally abolished the Sandwich constituency, which sent two MPs until 1885. It also halved the representation of no fewer than four other historic towns. In contrast a seat for Dartford, the North-Western Division of Kent or North West Kent, was created.

Political history

In the early 20th century, the Dartford constituency was very much a bellwether: Dartford's results later shifted towards the left: in 1938 and then in 1951 (as well as the two intervening general elections) a Labour MP was elected, on those two occasions in opposition.

This was the first seat contested by Margaret Thatcher (then Margaret Roberts), at the 1950 and 1951 general elections. From 1945 until 2010, Dartford has been a Labour-Conservative marginal seat and thus a "bellwether" again: since 1964 the party winning the seat has gone on to form the government.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Sessional Division of Dartford, the Parliamentary Boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich, and part of the Sessional Division of Bromley.

1918-1945: The Urban Districts of Bexley, Dartford, and Erith, and in the Rural District of Dartford the civil parishes of Crayford, Stone, and Swanscombe.

1945-1955: The Municipal Boroughs of Dartford and Erith, and the Urban District of Crayford.

1955-1974: The Municipal Borough of Dartford, the Urban District of Swanscombe, and the Rural District of Dartford.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Dartford, the Urban District of Swanscombe, and in the Rural District of Dartford the civil parishes of Darenth, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, and Wilmington.

1983-1997: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Ash-cum-Ridley, Fawkham and Hartley, Horton Kirby, and Longfield.

1997-2010: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Fawkham and Hartley, and Horton Kirby.

2010–present: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street.

Constituency profile

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 urban and rural areas.

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

Workless claimants who were registered jobseekers were in November 2012 lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 2.9% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[3]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[4]	Party
	1885	Sir William Hart Dyke	Conservative
	1906	James Rowlands	Liberal
	Jan 1910	William Foot Mitchell	Conservative
	Dec 1910	James Rowlands	Liberal
	1918		Coalition Liberal
	1920 by-election	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1922	George William Symonds Jarrett	National Liberal
	1923	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1924	Angus McDonnell	Conservative
	1929	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1931	Frank Edward Clarke	Conservative
	1938 by-election	Jennie 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
	2010	Gareth Johnson	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Dartford^[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson[7]	25,670	49.0	+0.2
	Labour	Simon Thomson[7]	13,325	25.4	-2.1
	UKIP	Elizabeth Jones	10,434	19.9	+16.2
	Liberal Democrat	Simon Beard[8]	1,454	2.8	-11.9
	Green	Andy Blatchford	1,324	2.5	N/A
	English Democrat	Steve Uncles	211	0.4	-3.9
Majority			12,345	23.6	+2.4
Turnout			52,418	68.4	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General Election 2010: Dartford^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	24,428	48.8	+7.6
	Labour	John Adams	13,800	27.6	−15.5
	Liberal Democrat	James Willis	7,361	14.7	+4.6
	English Democrat	Gary Rogers	2,178	4.3	+4.3
	UKIP	Richard Palmer	1,842	3.7	+0.7
	Independent	Stephane Tindame	264	0.5	+0.5
	Fancy Dress Party	Ernie Crockford	207	0.4	+0.7
Majority			10,628	21.2
Turnout			50,080	65.7	+2.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	11.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Dartford^[10]

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
	New England	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^[11]

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

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Dartford^[12]

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.^[13][14]

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	−8.9
Turnout			60,161	83.1	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.4

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Dartford^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	30,685	53.49
	Labour	BJ Clarke	15,756	27.46
	Social Democratic	MG Bruce	10,439	18.20
	Fancy Dress Party	KJ Davenport	491	0.86
Majority			14,929	26.02
Turnout				78.99
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Dartford^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	28,199	51.56
	Labour	D Townsend	14,636	26.76
	Liberal	J Mills	11,204	20.48
	Fancy Dress Party	A Crockford	374	0.68
	National Front	GE Nye	282	0.52
Majority			13,563	24.80
Turnout				76.37
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	21,195	45.87
	Labour	Sydney Irving	19,803	42.86
	Liberal	I Josephs	4,407	9.54
	National Front	I Nobbs	476	1.03
	Fancy Dress Party	J Beddowes	328	0.71
Majority			1,392	3.01
Turnout				80.35
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General Election October 1974: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	20,817	47.64
	Conservative	Graham Bright	15,331	35.09
	Liberal	George H Dunk	6,606	15.12
	National Front	RH Aldous	939	2.15
Majority			5,486	12.56
Turnout				76.60
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	19,803	41.98
	Conservative	Peter John Edward Trew	16,149	34.24
	Liberal	IR Josephs	10,273	21.78
	National Front	RH Aldous	945	2.00
Majority			3,654	7.75
Turnout				83.44
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1970: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter John Edward Trew	27,822	45.96
	Labour	Sydney Irving	27,262	45.03
	Liberal	J Paul Johnson	5,453	9.01
Majority			560	0.93
Turnout				74.02
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	29,547	49.84
	Conservative	Peter John Edward Trew	22,638	38.19
	Liberal	Peter Loftus	7,094	11.97
Majority			6,909	11.66
Turnout				80.80
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	27,371	46.46
	Conservative	James J Davis	22,496	38.18
	Liberal	Morris Janis	9,047	15.36
Majority			4,875	8.27
Turnout				81.48
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	25,323	45.83
	Conservative	Peter Edward Walker	24,047	43.52
	Liberal	Barry Charles Davis	5,881	10.64
Majority			1,276	2.31
Turnout				82.96
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sydney Irving	25,928	54.40
	Conservative	Peter Edward Walker	21,730	45.60
Majority			4,198	8.81
Turnout				80.98
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Norman Noel Dodds	40,094	59.09
	Conservative	Margaret Hilda Roberts	27,760	40.91
Majority			12,334	18.18
Turnout				85.22
	Labour hold		Swing	3.71%

General Election 1950: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Norman Noel Dodds	38,128	56.38
	Conservative	Margaret Hilda Roberts	24,490	36.21
	Liberal	Arthur Harry Giles	5,011	7.41
Majority			13,638	20.17
Turnout				85.51
	Labour hold		Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Norman Noel Dodds	36,665	68.38
	Conservative	Ralph Ernest Watkins Grubb	16,951	31.62
Majority			19,714	36.77
Turnout				74.89
	Labour hold		Swing

• 1945 saw radical boundary changes, with half the constituency becoming part of the Bexley seat.

Elections in the 1930s

Dartford by-election, 1938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Janet Laurel Adamson	46,514
	Conservative	Godfrey Mitchell	42,276
Majority			4,238
Turnout				68.00
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1935: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Frank Edward Clarke	38,242	51.79
	Labour	Janet Laurel Adamson	35,596	48.21
Majority			2,646	3.58
Turnout				69.63
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Frank Edward Clarke	34,095	55.49
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	27,349	44.51
Majority			6,746	10.98
Turnout				79.01
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Dartford^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	26,871	50.6	+1.6
	Unionist	Ashley Edwards	16,568	31.2	-19.8
	Liberal	John Woolfenden Williamson	9,689	18.2	n/a
Majority			10,303	19.4	21.4
Turnout				76.9	-2.3
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+10.7

General Election 1924: Dartford^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Hon. Angus McDonnell	20,108
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	19,352
Majority
Turnout
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 1923: Dartford ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	18,329	54.2	+10.3
	Constitutionalist	George William Symonds Jarrett	15,500	45.8	-3.8
Majority			2,829	8.4	14.1
Turnout				70.0	-1.2
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing	+7.0

Alison Garland

General Election 1922: Dartford^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal	George William Symonds Jarrett	16,662	49.6	n/a
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	14,744	43.9	+6.3
	Liberal	Alison Vickers Garland	2,175	6.5	-10.3
Majority			1,918	5.7
Turnout				71.2
	National Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	n/a

Dartford by-election, 1920^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	13,610	50.1	+21.4
	Liberal	Thomas Edward Wing	4,562	16.8	n/a
	Unionist	Richard James Meller	4,221	15.6	n/a
	National Party	Reginald Vincent Kempenfelt Applin	2,952		n/a
	Independent Unionist	Frank Emil Fehr	1,802		n/a
Majority			9,048
Turnout				61.3	+13.4
	Labour gain from Coalition Liberal		Swing

• endorsed by Coalition Government

Elections in the 1910s

Rowlands

General Election 1918: Dartford^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	James Rowlands	15,626	71.4	+20.8
	Labour	William Ling	6,256	28.6	n/a
Majority			9,370	42.8	+41.6
Turnout			21,892
	Unionist hold		Swing	n/a

• endorsed by Coalition Government

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: James Rowlands
• Unionist:

General Election December 1910 Dartford^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	James Rowlands	9,152	50.6	+2.8
	Conservative	William Foot Mitchell	8,918	49.4	-2.8
Majority			234	1.2	5.6
Turnout				84.4	-3.4
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.8

General Election January 1910 Dartford^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Foot Mitchell	9,807	52.2	+10.8
	Liberal	James Rowlands	8,990	47.8	-10.8
Majority			817	4.4	21.6
Turnout				87.8	+5.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.8

Elections in the 1900s

Rowlands

General Election 1906 Dartford ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	James Rowlands	9,532	58.6	n/a
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	6,728	41.4	n/a
Majority			2,804	17.2	n/a
Turnout				82.4	n/a
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	n/a

General Election 1900 Dartford^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Dartford ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	5,699	55.6	n/a
	Liberal	Sir Patteson Nickalls	4,557	44.4	n/a
Majority			1,142	11.2	n/a
Turnout				73.8	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1892: Dartford ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Conservative hold		Swing	n/a

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Dartford ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	4,198	58.6	+5.8
	Liberal	James Ebenezer Saunders	2,965	41.4	-5.8
Majority			1,233	17.2	+11.6
Turnout				64.1	-11.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.8

Dyke

General Election 1885: Dartford ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Sir William Hart Dyke	4,488	52.8	n/a
	Liberal	James Ebenezer Saunders	4,006	47.2	n/a
Majority			482	5.6	n/a
Turnout				76.0	n/a
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Notes and references

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.

References

1. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "Election 2015: Five answers for an election geek". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
3. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 1)
5. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000659
7. http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/dartford-2015.html
8. http://www.libdems.org.uk/general_election_candidates#South East
9. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
18. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
19. The Constitutional Year Book, 1925
20. Debretts House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1922
21. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig

Coordinates: 51°25′N 0°15′E / 51.417°N 0.250°E