Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

since

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by Gordon Henderson, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Boundaries

1997–2010: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Eastern, Grove, Hartlip and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Newington, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, West Downs, Woodstock. 2010–2015: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Chalkwell, Grove, Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Leysdown and Warden, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, St Michael's, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, Teynham and Lynsted, West Downs, Woodstock. 2015–present: The Borough of Swale wards of Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Borden and Grove Park, Chalkwell, Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch, Homewood, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, Sheerness, Sheppey Central, Sheppey East, Teynham and Lynsted, The Meads, West Downs, Woodstock. The constituency was created in 1997, mostly from the former seat of

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

. It covers some of the district of

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

, including

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

and the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

.2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
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Constituency profile

The seat includes the industrial town of Sittingbourne, the port of Sheerness, as well as significant areas of natural conservation. Some of the traditional fruit-growing sector remains in this part of North Kent. Residents voted strongly for Leave in the 2016 EU referendum, and are slightly poorer and less healthy than the UK average.

History

The constituency has been a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

of the national result since its creation in 1997. The seat came extremely close to losing this status in the 2005 general election, when Labour held the seat by just 79 votes after a recount, even though the sitting MP, Derek Wyatt, was expecting to lose. Boundary changes which came into effect for the 2010 general election suggest that the Conservatives would have won the seat in 2005 on the new boundaries, though the estimated notional Conservative majority is extremely small, so that it could have gone either way.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sittingbourne And Sheppey (Uk Parliament Constituency) Parliamentary constituencies in Kent Politics of Swale Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1997