Tunbridge Wells is a constituency in

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

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of the

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since

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 7 July 2022 to 6 September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Member of ...

, a

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who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2016 to 2019.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells, the Urban District of Southborough, the Rural District of Cranbrook, in the Rural District of Tonbridge the parishes of Bidborough, Brenchley, Capel, Horsmonden, Lamberhurst, Paddock Wood, Pembury, Speldhurst. 1983–1997: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells. ''The constituency boundaries remained unchanged.'' 1997–2010: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Brenchley, Capel, Culverden, Goudhurst, Horsmonden, Lamberhurst, Paddock Wood, Pantiles, Park, Pembury, Rusthall, St James', St John's, St Mark's, Sherwood, Southborough East, Southborough North, Southborough West, Speldhurst and Bidborough. 2010–present: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Brenchley and Horsmonden, Broadwater, Capel, Culverden, Goudhurst and Lamberhurst, Hawkhurst and Sandhurst, Paddock Wood East, Paddock Wood West, Pantiles and St Mark's, Park, Pembury, Rusthall, St James', St John's, Sherwood, Southborough and High Brooms, Southborough North, Speldhurst and Bidborough. The current constituency includes the large town of Tunbridge Wells, as well as most of its borough to the east which is generally rural.

History

The constituency was created in 1974, and was originally named "Royal Tunbridge Wells". Except for Cranbrook Rural District (previously part of the

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

constituency) the area had formed part of the constituency of

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

prior to 1974. In 1983 the "Royal" prefix was removed from the seat's name. ;Political history The seat's results since its 1974 creation indicate a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

. In 1994, the Conservative group on the council lost control, but regained it in 1998. ;Prominent frontbenchers In succession, from 1983 until 1997 Patrick Mayhew reached three leading positions:

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and for Northern Ireland (simultaneously) and

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

. From 2000 to 2001,

Archie Norman Archibald John Norman (born 1 May 1954) is a British businessman and politician. He is the only person to have been chairman of an FTSE 100 company and a Member of the House of Commons (MP) at the same time. From January 2010 to January 2016, N ...

was the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions. The present member,

, was Minister for Decentralisation from the start of the Cameron ministry, and then two years later became

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Constituency profile

The area is still largely rural in character and landscape, enjoying a gently elevated position which is traversed by the

High Weald Landscape Trail The High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT) is a route in England between Horsham, West Sussex and Rye, East Sussex, designed to pass through the main landscape types of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It does not follow ...

. The area has local service sector and financial sector employers, light engineering combined with being substantially a commuter belt town for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and to an extent, businesses on the southern side of the M25, such as in the Gatwick Diamond. The electorate voted for Remain in the

2016 EU referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

, and are wealthier than the UK average.Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Tunbridge+Wells

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1970s

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunbridge Wells (Uk Parliament Constituency) Politics of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1974 Parliamentary constituencies in Kent