West Kent (UK Parliament constituency)
West Kent | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | Kent |
1832–1885 | |
Seats | 2 |
Created from | Kent |
Replaced by |
Medway Sevenoaks Ashford Dartford Lewisham |
West Kent (formally known as "Kent, Western") was a county constituency in Kent in South East England. It returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
History
The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election, and abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election.
All three two-member constituencies in Kent were abolished in 1885: East Kent, Mid Kent and West Kent. They were replaced by eight new single-member constituencies: Ashford, Dartford, Faversham, Isle of Thanet, Medway, St Augustine's, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge.
Boundaries
1832–1868: The Lathes of Sutton-at-Hone and Aylesford, and the Lower Division of the Lathe of Scray.
1868–1885: The Lathe of Sutton-at-Hone.
Members of Parliament
Election | 1st Member | 1st Party | 2nd Member | 2nd Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1832 | Thomas Law Hodges | Whig | Thomas Rider | Whig | ||
1835 | Sir William Geary, Bt | Conservative | ||||
1838 by-election | Sir Edmund Filmer, Bt | Conservative | ||||
1841 | Viscount Marsham | Conservative | ||||
1845 by-election | Thomas Austen | Conservative | ||||
1847 | Thomas Law Hodges | Whig | ||||
1852 | William Masters Smith | Conservative | ||||
Feb 1857 by-election | Charles Wykeham Martin | Peelite | ||||
Apr 1857 | James Whatman | Radical | ||||
1859 | Viscount Holmesdale | Conservative | Sir Edmund Filmer, Bt | Conservative | ||
1865 | William Hart Dyke | Conservative | ||||
1868 | Sir Charles Mills, Bt | Conservative | John Gilbert Talbot | Conservative | ||
1878 by-election | Viscount Lewisham | Conservative | ||||
1885 | constituency abolished |
Election results
Elections in the 1830s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Whig | Thomas Law Hodges | 3,364 | 37.5 | ||
Whig | Thomas Rider | 3,100 | 34.5 | ||
Tory | William Geary | 2,518 | 28.0 | ||
Majority | 582 | 6.5 | |||
Turnout | 5,562 | 83.3 | |||
Registered electors | 6,678 | ||||
Whig win (new seat) | |||||
Whig win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Geary | 2,558 | 38.4 | +10.4 | |
Whig | Thomas Law Hodges | 2,092 | 31.4 | −6.1 | |
Whig | Thomas Rider | 2,007 | 30.1 | −4.4 | |
Turnout | 4,549 | 66.4 | −16.9 | ||
Registered electors | 6,850 | ||||
Majority | 466 | 7.0 | N/A | ||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +10.5 | |||
Majority | 85 | 1.3 | −5.2 | ||
Whig hold | Swing | −5.7 |
- Rider retired at the close of the first day's poll
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Geary | 3,584 | 35.3 | +16.1 | |
Whig | Thomas Law Hodges | 3,334 | 32.9 | −28.6 | |
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | 3,229 | 31.8 | +12.6 | |
Turnout | 6,641 | 78.8 | +12.4 | ||
Registered electors | 8,432 | ||||
Majority | 250 | 2.4 | −4.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +15.2 | |||
Majority | 105 | 1.1 | −0.2 | ||
Whig hold | Swing | −28.7 |
Geary resigned, causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1840s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Charles Marsham | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 9,089 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative gain from Whig |
Marsham succeeded to the peerage, becoming 3rd Earl of Romney and causing a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Austen | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | 3,219 | 34.1 | N/A | |
Whig | Thomas Law Hodges | 3,127 | 33.2 | New | |
Conservative | Thomas Austen | 3,082 | 32.7 | N/A | |
Turnout | 6,278 (est) | 66.2 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 9,489 | ||||
Majority | 92 | 0.9 | N/A | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 45 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
Whig gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1850s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | 3,247 | 35.7 | +1.6 | |
Conservative | William Masters Smith | 3,193 | 35.1 | +2.4 | |
Whig | Thomas Law Hodges | 2,652 | 29.2 | −4.0 | |
Majority | 541 | 5.9 | +5.0 | ||
Turnout | 5,872 (est) | 62.6 (est) | −3.6 | ||
Registered electors | 9,379 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +1.6 | |||
Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +1.5 |
Filmer's death caused a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 3,557 | 53.0 | New | |
Conservative | Sir Walter Buchanan Riddell, 10th Baronet | 3,149 | 47.0 | −23.8 | |
Majority | 408 | 6.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 6,706 | 74.9 | +12.3 | ||
Registered electors | 8,949 | ||||
Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 3,896 | 36.6 | N/A | |
Radical | James Whatman | 3,578 | 33.6 | +4.4 | |
Conservative | William Masters Smith | 3,171 | 29.8 | −41.0 | |
Turnout | 5,323 (est) | 59.5 (est) | −3.1 | ||
Registered electors | 8,949 | ||||
Majority | 318 | 3.0 | N/A | ||
Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Majority | 407 | 3.8 | N/A | ||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +12.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Amherst | 3,769 | 26.0 | +11.1 | |
Conservative | Edmund Filmer | 3,684 | 25.4 | +10.5 | |
Liberal | Charles Wykeham Martin | 3,584 | 24.7 | −11.9 | |
Liberal | James Whatman | 3,460 | 23.9 | −9.7 | |
Majority | 100 | 0.7 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 7,249 (est) | 81.0 (est) | +21.5 | ||
Registered electors | 8,949 | ||||
Conservative gain from Peelite | Swing | +11.0 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +10.7 |
Elections in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Amherst | 4,133 | 25.9 | −0.1 | |
Conservative | William Hart Dyke | 4,054 | 25.4 | 0.0 | |
Liberal | John Lubbock | 3,896 | 24.4 | −0.3 | |
Liberal | William Angerstein | 3,861 | 24.2 | +0.3 | |
Majority | 158 | 1.0 | +0.3 | ||
Turnout | 7,972 (est) | 81.3 (est) | +0.3 | ||
Registered electors | 9,811 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −0.1 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Mills | 3,440 | 25.8 | −0.1 | |
Conservative | John Gilbert Talbot | 3,378 | 25.3 | −0.1 | |
Liberal | John Lubbock | 3,323 | 24.9 | +0.5 | |
Liberal | William Angerstein | 3,196 | 24.0 | −0.2 | |
Majority | 55 | 0.4 | −0.6 | ||
Turnout | 6,669 (est) | 75.5 (est) | −5.8 | ||
Registered electors | 8,828 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −0.3 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +0.1 |
Elections in the 1870s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Mills | 5,295 | 30.7 | +4.9 | |
Conservative | John Gilbert Talbot | 5,227 | 30.3 | +5.0 | |
Liberal | Archibald Hamilton | 3,391 | 19.6 | −5.3 | |
Liberal | Edward Marjoribanks | 3,346 | 19.4 | −4.6 | |
Majority | 1,836 | 10.6 | +10.2 | ||
Turnout | 8,630 (est) | 72.1 (est) | −3.4 | ||
Registered electors | 11,973 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +5.1 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.8 |
Talbot resigned in order to contest the 1878 Oxford University by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Legge | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Charles Mills | 6,413 | 35.2 | +4.5 | |
Conservative | William Legge | 5,986 | 32.8 | +2.5 | |
Liberal | Henry Mason Bompas | 4,857 | 26.6 | −12.4 | |
Conservative Tenant Farmers | John May | 977 | 5.4 | New | |
Majority | 1,129 | 6.2 | −4.4 | ||
Turnout | 11,270 (est) | 75.8 (est) | +3.7 | ||
Registered electors | 14,873 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +5.4 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | +4.4 |
Legge was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, requiring a by-election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | William Legge | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |