Dover (UK Parliament constituency)
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Dover 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, ...
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 ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
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
Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 suprema ...
. Dover was considered a
Cinque Ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to th ...
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, ...
from 1386 to 1832.


Constituency profile

The seat includes most of
Dover District Dover is a local government district in Kent, England. The port town of Dover is its administrative centre. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the boroughs of Deal, Dover, and Sandwich along with Dover Rural District and most of Eastry ...
. It comprises the towns of
Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...
,
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
,
Walmer Walmer is a town in Dover District, the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of ...
and surrounding villages in a productive chalkland, long-cultivated area adjoining the
Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait (french: Pas de Calais - ''Strait of Calais''), is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, separating Great Britain from continent ...
. Since 1983 it has excluded the northern part of the District in and around the historically important
Cinque Port The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to th ...
of
Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
with its golf links and accessible shore, which was then transferred to the South Thanet seat. Since 1945 Dover has been a Labour/Conservative swing seat. In local elections, most of its rural villages and the two small towns favour the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, whereas Dover favours the Labour Party, as well as the former mixed mining and agricultural villages in the local coal belt (East Kent coalfield), such as
Aylesham Aylesham is a village and civil parish in the Dover district of Kent, England. The village is located around 6.5 miles (10.5 km) southeast of the cathedral city of Canterbury, and around 8.5 miles (13.7 km) northwest of the town an ...
. Labour's vote held on very solidly here in 2005, but the seat went Conservative in the 2010 election on a swing of 10.4% compared with a 4.9% swing nationally.


Cinque Port Seat

Dover's representation was originally as a
Cinque Port constituency Until the Reform Act 1832, there were eight constituencies in the Parliament of England and its successors related to the cinque ports. The cinque port constituencies were slightly different from parliamentary boroughs. The 1832 Act abolished m ...
. In the sixteenth and seventeenth the
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...
nominated one member as with other Cinque Ports, but this was outlawed by an act of Parliament in 1689. There was still some residual influence but there was also a local independent element in the borough with two local leading families, the Papillons and Furneses, starting to send MPs. By the mid eighteenth century it had come more under government influence through the influence of the
Earl of Hardwicke Earl of Hardwicke is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1754 for Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1737 to 1756. He had already been created Baron Hardwicke, of Hardwicke in ...
, although government control was often more fragile than it seemed.Pages 121 to 124,
Lewis Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ameri ...
, ''
The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III ''The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' was a book written by Lewis Namier. At the time of its first publication in 1929 it caused a historiographical revolution in understanding the 18th century by challenging the Whig view ...
'' (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
Dover lost its status as a Cinque Port seat, becoming a borough seat under the
1832 Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...
.


Boundaries

1918–1950: The Boroughs of Dover and Deal, the Urban District of Walmer, and the Rural Districts of Dover and Eastry. 1950–1983: The Boroughs of Dover, Deal, and Sandwich, the Rural District of Dover, and the Rural District of Eastry except the parishes included in the Isle of Thanet constituency. 1983–2010: The District of Dover wards of Aylesham, Barton, Buckland, Capel-le-Ferne, Castle, Cornilo, Eastry, Eythorne, Lower Walmer, Lydden and Temple Ewell, Maxton and Elms Vale, Middle Deal, Mill Hill, Mongeham, Noninstone, North Deal, Pineham, Priory, Ringwould, River, St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, St Radigund's, Shepherdswell with Coldred, Tower Hamlets, Town and Pier, and Upper Walmer. 2010–present: The District of Dover wards of Aylesham, Buckland, Capel-le-Ferne, Castle, Eastry, Eythorne and Shepherdswell, Lydden and Temple Ewell, Maxton, Elms Vale and Priory, Middle Deal and Sholden, Mill Hill, North Deal, Ringwould, River, St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, St Radigund's, Tower Hamlets, Town and Pier, Walmer, and Whitfield.


Charlie Elphicke Charles Brett Anthony Elphicke (born 14 March 1971) is a British politician, former solicitor and convicted sex offender. As a member of the Conservative Party and later an independent, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 201 ...
scandal

From 2010, the MP was
Charlie Elphicke Charles Brett Anthony Elphicke (born 14 March 1971) is a British politician, former solicitor and convicted sex offender. As a member of the Conservative Party and later an independent, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 201 ...
, elected as a member of the Conservative Party. On 3 November 2017, Elphicke was suspended by the Conservative Party after "serious allegations" were made against him, and then sat as an Independent until 12 December 2018 when he had the Conservative Whip restored ahead of a party vote on a no-confidence motion against Theresa May. In July 2019, the whip was withdrawn again after he was charged by the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
with three counts of
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
against two women. Charlie Elphicke stood down as an MP shortly before the 2019 UK General Election, with his wife,
Natalie Elphicke Natalie Cecilia Elphicke (née Ross; born 5 November 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician and finance lawyer. At the 2019 general election, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover, succeeding her husband Charli ...
standing as the Conservative Party candidate in his place. Natalie Elphicke was elected as the MP for Dover at the 2019 UK General Election, increasing on her husband's majority.


Members of Parliament


Cinque Port/Parliamentary Borough 1386–1918


MPs 1386–1660

''No parliament called between 1629 and 1640''


MPs 1660–1885


MPs 1885–1918


County constituency 1918–present


Elections in the 19th century


Elections in the 1830s


Elections in the 1840s


Elections in the 1850s


Elections in the 1860s


Elections in the 1870s


Elections in the 1880s


Elections in the 1890s


Elections in the 20th century


Elections in the 1900s


Elections in the 1910s


Elections in the 1920s


Elections in the 1930s

*withdrew on 16 October


Election in the 1940s


Elections in the 1950s


Elections in the 1960s


Elections in the 1970s


Elections in the 1980s


Elections in the 1990s


Elections in the 21st century


Elections in the 2000s


Elections in the 2010s


See also

* List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent


References


Sources

*
Robert Beatson Robert Beatson, LL.D. FRSE FSA (1741–1818) was a Scottish compiler and miscellaneous writer. Life He was born on 25 June 1741 at Dysart in Fife, Scotland, the son of David Beatson of Vicarsgrange. He was educated for the military profession, ...
, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

* ''The Constitutional Year Book for 1913'' (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913) * F. W. S. Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885'' (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989) * F. W. S. Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949'' (Glasgow: Political Reference Publications, 1969) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dover (Uk Parliament Constituency) 1369 establishments in England Dover District Parliamentary constituencies in Kent Cinque ports parliament constituencies Members of Parliament for Dover