Maidstone and The Weald (UK Parliament constituency)

Maidstone and The Weald
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Maidstone and The Weald in Kent.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Electorate	70,576 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Maidstone, Staplehurst and Cranbrook
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of parliament	Helen Grant (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Maidstone, Mid Kent, Tunbridge Wells
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Maidstone and The Weald is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Helen Grant, a Conservative.

Boundaries

1997-2010: The Borough of Maidstone wards of Allington, Barming, Boughton Monchelsea, Bridge, Coxheath, East, Farleigh, Heath, High Street, Loose, Marden, North, South, Staplehurst, and Yalding, and the Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Benenden, Cranbrook, Frittenden and Sissinghurst, Hawkhurst, and Sandhurst.

2010-present: The Borough of Maidstone wards of Allington, Barming, Bridge, Coxheath and Hunton, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Loose, Marden and Yalding, North, South, and Staplehurst, and the Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Benenden and Cranbrook, and Frittenden and Sissinghurst.

The largest settlement is the central county town of Maidstone in Kent in south-east England with smaller settlements spread throughout agriculture-rich Maidstone borough and partly wooded Tunbridge Wells borough.

History

The constituency was created for the 1997 general election, after the previous Maidstone constituency was split in two: its southeast wards of Shepway and Park Wood of the town itself and the rural wards east of the town joined Faversham in the new Faversham and Mid Kent constituency. The remaining two-thirds of the electorate in west/central Maidstone were reunited with the town wards that had been lost to Mid Kent in 1983 (which was abolished), and joined by a rural part of the Weald to the south of the town, previously in the Tunbridge Wells constituency.

History of members

The MP for the seat from its creation in 1997 was Ann Widdecombe of the Conservative Party. Widdecombe was MP for the former seat of Maidstone 1987-97, and served as a Home Office Minister (of State) in the government of John Major from 1995 to 1997, and as Shadow Home Secretary from 1999 to 2001. She stood down at the 2010 general election, to be succeeded by its winner, who was Helen Grant, also a Conservative.

Constituency profile

Most of the electorate live in urban Maidstone, which has some light industry but whose economy is increasingly dominated by the service sector (including care, hospitality and insurance). The south of the constituency is rural with significant orchards and market gardens. Many residents commute to London, with the relevant terminus being London Bridge. To summarise this is an urban-rural seat in a prosperous part of Kent.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Ann Widdecombe	Conservative
	2010	Helen Grant	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Maidstone and the Weald

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Helen Grant	22,745	45.5	−2.9
	Liberal Democrat	Jasper Gerard	12,036	24.1	−11.9
	UKIP	Eddie Powell	7,930	15.9	+12.5
	Labour	Allen Simpson	5,268	10.5	+0.8
	Green	Hannah Patton	1,396	2.8	+1.5
	National Health Action	Dr Paul Hobday	583	1.2	N/A
	Independent	Robin James Kinrade	52	0.1	N/A
Majority			10,709	21.4
Turnout			50,010	68.3	−0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.5

General Election 2010: Maidstone and the Weald

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Helen Grant	23,491	48.0	−3.8
	Liberal Democrat	Peter Carroll	17,602	36.0	+13.8
	Labour	Rav Seeruthun	4,769	9.7	−12.6
	UKIP	Gareth A. Kendal	1,637	3.3	+0.3
	Green	Stuart R. Jeffery	655	1.3	+0.4
	National Front	Gary Butler	643	1.3	N/A
	Christian	Heidi A. Simmonds	131	0.3	N/A
Majority			5,889	12.0	−18.5
Turnout			48,928	68.9	+3.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	−8.5

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Maidstone and the Weald

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	25,670	52.7	+3.1
	Labour	Elizabeth Breeze	10,814	22.2	−4.8
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Corney	10,808	22.2	+2.3
	UKIP	Anthony 'Felix' Robertson	1,463	3.0	+0.9
Majority			14,856	30.5
Turnout			48,755	65.8	+4.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.9

General Election 2001: Maidstone & The Weald

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	22,621	49.6	+5.5
	Labour	Mark Owen Davis	12,303	27.0	+0.8
	Liberal Democrat	Allison Joan Wainman	9,064	19.9	−2.5
	UKIP	John Michael Botting	978	2.1	+1.5
	Independent	Neil Hunt	611	1.3	N/A
Majority			10,318	22.6
Turnout			45,577	61.6	−12.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Maidstone and the Weald

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Widdecombe	23,657	44.1	N/A
	Labour	John Morgan	14,054	26.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs Jane E. Nelson	11,986	22.4	N/A
	Referendum	Miss Sarah L. Hopkins	1,998	3.7	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Mrs. Maureen Cleator	979	1.8	N/A
	Green	Mrs. Penny A. Kemp	480	0.9	N/A
	UKIP	Mrs. R. Owens	339	0.6	N/A
	Natural Law	John D. Oldbury	115	0.2	N/A
Majority			9,603	17.9	N/A
Turnout			53,608	73.7	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

• T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
• Robert Waller, The Almanac of British Politics (1st edition, London: Croom Helm, 1983; 5th edition, London: Routledge, 1996)
• Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent