Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashford
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Ashford in Kent for the 2010 general election.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Population	112,940 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	85,177 (December 2015)[2]
Major settlements	Tenterden and Ashford, Kent
Current constituency
Created	1885
Member of parliament	Damian Green (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	West Kent
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Ashford is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Damian Green of the Conservative Party.^{[n 2]}

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Municipal Borough of Tenterden, the Sessional Divisions of Ashford and Cranbrook, the corporate towns of Lydd and New Romney, and part of the Liberty of Romney Marsh.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Lydd, New Romney, and Tenterden, the Urban District of Ashford, and the Rural Districts of Cranbrook, East Ashford, Romney Marsh, Tenterden, and West Ashford.

1950-1974: The Municipal Borough of Tenterden, the Urban District of Ashford, and the Rural Districts of Cranbrook, East Ashford, Tenterden, and West Ashford.

1974-1983: The Municipal Borough of Tenterden, the Urban District of Ashford, and the Rural Districts of East Ashford, Tenterden, and West Ashford.

1983-2010: The Borough of Ashford.

2010-present: The Borough of Ashford wards of Aylesford Green, Beaver, Biddenden, Bockhanger, Boughton Aluph and Eastwell, Bybrook, Charing, Downs North, Downs West, Godinton, Great Chart with Singleton North, Highfield, Isle of Oxney, Kennington, Little Burton Farm, Norman, North Willesborough, Park Farm North, Park Farm South, Rolvenden and Tenterden West, St Michael's, Singleton South, South Willesborough, Stanhope, Stour, Tenterden North, Tenterden South, Victoria, Washford, Weald Central, Weald East, Weald North, Weald South, and Wye.

Ashford constituency has the large town of Ashford which has Ashford International railway station and the smaller town of Tenterden, one of the area's 46 villages, towns or town suburbs which are organised communities into civil parishes. Ashford town centre, its north and its west are the only unparished areas.^[3]

Constituency profile

Political history

Created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Ashford has been won by a Conservative at every election except that of 1929 when it was won by a Liberal, after that party's turn towards the left marked by the People's Budget in 1911, who won with a majority of less than 1% of the vote.

The last occasion its safe seat credentials were dented was in 1997 when its voters returned a Conservative with a 9.7% majority.

Economy

The constituency has its express-enabled station to London, Paris and Brussels leading to a considerable use including by local international employers supporting local shops, leisure facilities and attractions. Its use increased by over a million per year in the seven years to 2012, to 3.3 million entries and exits that year. At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 2.0% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 2.4% and national average of 3.8%.^[4]

Members of Parliament

• Constituency created (1885)

Election		Member[5]	Party
	1885	William Pomfret Pomfret	Conservative
	1892	Laurence Hardy	Conservative
	1918	Samuel Strang Steel	Coalition Conservative
	1929	Rev. Roderick Kedward	Liberal
	1931	Michael Knatchbull	Conservative
	1933 by-election	Patrick Spens	Conservative
	1943 by-election	Edward Percy Smith	Conservative
	1950	Bill Deedes	Conservative
	1974	Keith Speed	Conservative
	1997	Damian Green	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Ashford[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Green	30,094	52.5	-1.7
	UKIP	Gerald O'Brien	10,798	18.8	+14.3
	Labour	Brendan Chilton	10,580	18.4	+1.8
	Liberal Democrat	Debbie Enever	3,433	6.0	-16.8
	Green	Mandy Rossi	2,467	4.3	+2.5
Majority			19,296	33.6
Turnout			57,372	67.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.0

General Election 2010: Ashford[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Green	29,878	54.1	+2.7
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Took	12,581	22.8	+7.2
	Labour	Chris Clark	9,204	16.7	−9.7
	UKIP	Jeffrey Elenor[8]	2,508	4.5	+1.4
	Green	Steven Campkin	1,014	1.8	−1.6
Majority			17,297	31.3
Turnout			55,185	67.9	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.3

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Green	26,651	51.6	+4.2
	Labour	Valerie Whitaker	13,353	25.8	−6.3
	Liberal Democrat	Chris Took	8,308	16.1	+1.0
	Green	Richard Boden	1,753	3.4	+0.6
	UKIP	Bernard Stroud	1,620	3.1	+0.5
Majority			13,298	25.7	+10.4
Turnout			51,685	65.0	+2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.2

General Election, 2001: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Green	22,739	47.4	+6.0
	Labour	John Adams	15,380	32.1	+0.4
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Fitchett	7,236	15.1	−4.6
	Green	Richard Boden	1,353	2.8	+1.6
	UKIP	David Waller	1,229	2.6	N/A
Majority			7,359	15.3	+5.6
Turnout			47,937	62.5	−11.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.2

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Ashford[9][10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Green	22,899	41.4	−13.2
	Labour	John Ennals	17,554	31.7	+11.7
	Liberal Democrat	John Williams	10,901	19.7	−4.4
	Referendum	Christopher Cruden	3,201	5.8	N/A
	Green	Richard Boden	660	1.2	−0.2
	Natural Law	Stephen Tyrell	89	0.2	N/A
Majority			5,345	9.7	−20.8
Turnout			55,302	74.2	−5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	−12.5

General Election 1992: Ashford[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Speed	31,031	54.6	−1.9
	Liberal Democrat	Ms. Christine L.B. Headley	13,672	24.1	−3.3
	Labour	Ms. Doreen A. Cameron	11,365	20.0	+5.3
	Green	Dr. Andrew Porter	773	1.4	−0.1
Majority			17,359	30.5	+1.3
Turnout			56,841	79.2	+3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Speed	29,978	56.54
	Social Democratic	Neil Norman Macmillan	14,490	27.33
	Labour	Michael John Wiggins	7,775	14.66
	Green	Dr. Charles Andrew Porter	778	1.47
Majority			15,488	29.21
Turnout				75.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Speed	27,230	56.80
	Social Democratic	J Hawkes	13,319	27.78
	Labour	P Lewis	6,167	12.87
	Ecology	Dr. CA Porter	569	1.19
	National Labour	JW King	456	0.95
	BNP	RE Lockwood	195	0.41
Majority			13,911	29.02
Turnout				73.25
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Keith Speed	26,224	55.65
	Labour	AA Gilbert	12,586	26.71
	Liberal	A Wainman	7,631	16.20
	National Front	KR McKilliam	678	1.44
Majority			13,638	28.94
Turnout				76.67
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Keith Speed	19,294	44.31
	Labour	MB Jackson	13,269	30.47
	Liberal	CG Dennis	10,983	25.22
Majority			6,025	13.84
Turnout				74.54
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	21,773	46.2
	Liberal	CG Dennis	13,314	28.2
	Labour	MB Jackson	12,077	25.6
Majority			8,459	18.0
Turnout				81.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	26,649	54.8
	Labour	John M Bowyer	14,037	28.9
	Liberal	Charles Truman	7,902	16.3
Majority			12,612	26.0
Turnout			48,588	72.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	21,362	50.0
	Labour	Charles A Thomas	13,249	31.0
	Liberal	J Gavin W Peck	8,121	19.0
Majority			8,113	19.0
Turnout			42,732	75.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	21,026	49.4
	Labour	Charles A Thomas	11,989	28.2
	Liberal	J Gavin W Peck	9,531	22.4
Majority			9,037	21.2
Turnout			42,546	77.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	25,383	62.88
	Labour	Reginald Ward	14,983	37.12
Majority			10,400	25.76
Turnout			40,366	77.48
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	23,992	60.47
	Labour	Neville Devonshire Sandelson	15,685	39.53
Majority			8,307	20.94
Turnout				78.07
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	24,093	59.14
	Labour	Neville Devonshire Sandelson	16,645	40.86
Majority			7,448	18.28
Turnout				81.94
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Francis Deedes	21,095	51.61
	Labour	Neville Devonshire Sandelson	14,948	36.57
	Liberal	H Shirley	4,828	11.81
Majority			6,147	15.04
Turnout				84.08
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Percy Smith	18,800	52.0
	Labour	Horace W. Lee	12,575	34.8
	Liberal	Harold Vesey Strong	4,804	13.3
Majority			6,225	17.2
Turnout				71.27
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ashford by-election, 1943 [12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Percy Smith	9,648	69.7	+10.5
	Common Wealth	Catherine E. Williamson	4,192	30.3	n/a
Majority			5,456	39.4
Turnout				27.7	-45.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election in the 1930s

General Election 14 November 1935: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Patrick Spens	21,323	59.2
	Liberal	Richard Borlase Matthews	8,338	23.2
	Labour	W J Beck	6,333	17.6
Majority			12,985	36.1
Turnout				73.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ashford by-election, 1933:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Patrick Spens	16,051	47.7
	Liberal	Rev. Roderick Morris Kedward	11,423	33.9
	Labour	W J Beck	6,178	18.4
Majority			4,628	13.8
Turnout				70.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

General Election 27 October 1931: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull	20,891	58.7
	Liberal National	Rev. Roderick Morris Kedward	14,681	41.3
Majority			6,210	17.5
Turnout				75.9

Election in the 1920s

General Election 30 May 1929: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Roderick Morris Kedward	15,753	46.0	+24.2
	Unionist	Samuel Strang Steel	14,579	42.6	-17.8
	Labour	Montefiore Follick	3,885	11.4	-6.4
Majority			1,174	3.4	42.0
Turnout				75.3	+4.9
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing	+21.0

General Election 29 October 1924: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Strang Steel	15,159	60.4
	Liberal	Leonard John Humphrey	5,487	21.8
	Labour	Basil Noble	4,473	17.8
Majority			9,672	38.6
Turnout				70.4

General Election 6 December 1923: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Strang Steel	12,644	62.1	-7.0
	Labour	Basil Noble	7,709	37.9	+7.0
Majority			4,935	24.2	-14.0
Turnout				57.8
	Unionist hold		Swing	+17.0

General Election 15 November 1922: Ashford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Samuel Strang Steel	15,638
	Labour	Basil Noble	6,977
Majority
Turnout

Election in the 1910s

General Election 14 December 1918:
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Maj. Samuel Strang Steel	10,258
	Independent	W H Deades	2,408
Majority
Turnout

General Election 1906: Ashford [13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Laurence Hardy	5,994	51.6
	Liberal	Percy Alfred Harris	5,614	48.4
Majority			380	3.2
Turnout				83.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

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. "Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
2. "Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. 2011 Census Custom tables: administrative parish hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-07-17
4. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
6. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. Ashford.gov.uk
8. "UKIP: Ashford". UKIP. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
9. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
10. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.120 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
11. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
12. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
13. British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918 FWS Craig

Sources

• British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Macmillan Press 1974)
• Iain Dale, ed. (2003). The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935. Politico's (reprint). ISBN 1-84275-033-X.
• The Times House of Commons 1945. The Times. 1945.
• The Times House of Commons 1950. The Times. 1950.
• The Times House of Commons 1955. The Times. 1955.

Coordinates: 51°06′N 0°48′E / 51.1°N 0.8°E