Folkestone and Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)

Folkestone and Hythe
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Folkestone and Hythe in Kent.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Electorate	84,156 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Folkestone and Hythe
Current constituency
Created	1950 (1950)
Member of Parliament	Damian Collins (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Folkestone and Hythe is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

It consists of the towns of Folkestone and Hythe, in Kent in the south east of England. Its boundaries are the same as that of Shepway District. As well as the urban area around Folkestone and Hythe, it also contains the more rural communities of New Romney, Lydd, Dymchurch, Lyminge and Elham.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England has made major changes to the constituency boundaries in the county as a consequence of population changes.

This modified constituency will be formed from the entire district of Shepway and the Ashford electoral ward of Saxon Shore, the swathe of villages southeast of Ashford between Ruckinge and Hastingleigh.

Members of Parliament

The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Damian Collins of the Conservative Party, who was elected at the 2010 general election. Collins' predecessor in the seat was Michael Howard, who represented the constituency from 1983 to 2010. Howard held a number of political posts during his career in Parliament, most prominently as Home Secretary from 1993 to 1997 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005.

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Harry Ripley Mackeson	Conservative
	1959	Sir Albert Costain	Conservative
	1983	Michael Howard	Conservative
	2010	Damian Collins	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Folkestone and Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Damian Collins	26,109	49.4	-4.5
	Liberal Democrat	Lynne Beaumont	15,987	30.3	+0.7
	Labour	Donald Worsley	5,719	10.8	-1.8
	UKIP	Frank McKenna	2,439	4.6	+3.3
	BNP	Harry Williams	1,662	3.1	N/A
	Green	Penny Kemp	637	1.2	-0.3
	Independent	David Plumstead	247	0.5	+0.5
Majority			10,122	19.2
Turnout			52,800	67.7	-1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Folkestone and Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Howard	26,161	53.9	+8.9
	Liberal Democrat	Peter Carroll	14,481	29.9	-2.2
	Labour	Maureen Tomison	6,053	12.5	-7.7
	Green	Hazel Dawe	688	1.4	+1.4
	UKIP	Petrina Holdsworth	619	1.3	-1.3
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord Toby Jug	175	0.4	+0.4
	Get Britain Back	Rodney Hylton-Potts	153	0.3	+0.3
	Senior Citizens Party	Grahame Leon-Smith	151	0.3	+0.3
	Peace and Progress	Sylvia Dunn	22	0.0	0.0
Majority			11,680	24.1
Turnout			48,503	68.4	4.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

General Election 2001: Folkestone and Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Howard	20,645	45.0	+6.0
	Liberal Democrat	Peter Carroll	14,738	32.1	+5.2
	Labour	Albert Catterall	9,260	20.2	-4.7
	UKIP	John Baker	1,212	2.6	+1.9
Majority			5,907	12.9
Turnout			45,855	64.1	-8.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.4

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Folkestone and Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Howard	20,313	39.0	-13.3
	Liberal Democrat	David Laws	13,981	26.9	-8.4
	Labour	Peter Doherty	12,939	24.9	+12.8
	Referendum Party	John Aspinall	4,188	8.0	N/A
	UKIP	John Baker	378	0.7	N/A
	Socialist Alliance	Eric Segal	182	0.4	N/A
	Country Field and Shooting Sports	Raymond Saint	69	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,332	12.2	-4.8
Turnout			52,050	72.7	-6.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.5

General Election 1992: Folkestone and Hythe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Howard	27,437	52.3	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs Linda W. Cufley	18,527	35.3	−1.9
	Labour	Peter Doherty	6,347	12.1	+4.7
	Natural Law	AR Hobbs	123	0.2	N/A
Majority			8,910	17.0	−1.1
Turnout			52,434	79.6	+1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−0.6

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Sources

• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results 1997-2001 (BBC)
• Election results 1997-2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results 1992-2010 (The Guardian)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Chingford and Woodford Green	Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition 2003–2005	Succeeded by Witney