Tonbridge and Malling (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974–2024 This article is about the parliamentary constituency. For the district of the same name, see Tonbridge and Malling.

Tonbridge and Malling
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent for the 2010 general election
Location of Kent within England
County	Kent
Electorate	72,671 (2015)
Major settlements	Tonbridge, Edenbridge and West Malling
1974 (1974)–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Sevenoaks, Tonbridge
Replaced by	Tonbridge

Tonbridge and Malling was a constituency in western Kent, in South East England, in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented for its entire creation since 1974 by members of the Conservative Party.

Further to the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. Subject to moderate boundary changes, it will be reformed as Tonbridge, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.

History

The seat was created in 1974 from parts of the seats of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1974–1983: The Urban District of Tonbridge, the Rural District of Malling, and part of the Rural District of Tonbridge.

1983–1997: The District of Tonbridge and Malling.

1997–2010: The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling wards of Birling, Leybourne and Ryarsh, Borough Green, Cage Green, Castle, East Malling, East Peckham, Hadlow, Higham, Hildenborough, Ightham, Judd, Long Mill, Medway, Oast, Trench, Vauxhall, Wateringbury, West Malling, West Peckham and Mereworth, and Wrotham, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Edenbridge North, Edenbridge South, Leigh, Penshurst and Fordcombe, and Somerden.

2010–2024: The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling wards of Borough Green and Long Mill, Cage Green, Castle, Downs, East Malling, East Peckham and Golden Green, Hadlow, Mereworth and West Peckham, Higham, Hildenborough, Ightham, Judd, Kings Hill, Medway, Trench, Vauxhall, Wateringbury, West Malling and Leybourne, and Wrotham, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Cowden and Hever, Edenbridge North and East, Edenbridge South and West, Leigh and Chiddingstone Causeway, and Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone.

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2023)

The constituency was in the west of the county of Kent in south eastern England and included about two-thirds of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling (the remainder being in the Chatham and Aylesford constituency),and parts of Sevenoaks District.

Constituency profile

This safe Conservative seat was characterised by a large commuter population benefiting from good road and rail links to London. Light engineering, farming and local service industry sectors are represented alongside the public sector, skilled trades and some construction. Visitor attractions in the constituency include the River Medway, the Eden Valley Walk which covers Edenbridge and Penshurst, including Hever Castle, Chiddingstone Castle, Penshurst Place and Tonbridge Castle. In this seat are numerous oast houses and remaining Wealden woodlands.

Residents' wealth and house prices are both higher than the UK average.

Members of Parliament

	Member	Party
Feb 1974	Sir John Stanley	Conservative
2015	Tom Tugendhat	Conservative
2024	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

General election February 1974: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Stanley	24,809	45.8
	Liberal	M Vann	14,701	27.1
	Labour	Jack Straw	14,683	27.1
Majority			10,108	18.7
Turnout			54,193	83.4
	Conservative win (new seat)

General election October 1974: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	23,188	46.8	+1.0
	Labour	P. Knight	14,579	29.4	+2.3
	Liberal	M. Vann	11,767	23.8	−3.3
Majority			8,609	17.4	−1.3
Turnout			49,534	75.5	−7.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.7

General election 1979: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	29,534	54.5	+7.7
	Labour	R. Ackerley	13,282	24.5	−4.9
	Liberal	G. Knopp	10,904	20.1	−3.7
	National Front	G. Burnett	429	0.8	New
Majority			16,252	30.0	+12.6
Turnout			54,149	79.5	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.3

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	30,417	56.1	+1.6
	SDP	Roland JM Freeman	16,897	31.2	+11.1
	Labour	David Bishop	6,896	12.7	−11.8
Majority			13,520	24.9	−5.1
Turnout			54,210	74.7	−4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.8

General election 1987: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	33,990	56.9	+0.8
	SDP	Michael Ward	17,561	29.4	−1.8
	Labour	Derek Still	7,803	13.1	+0.4
	BNP	Michael Easter	369	0.6	New
Majority			16,429	27.5	+2.6
Turnout			59,725	77.8	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	36,542	57.2	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Paul D. Roberts	14,984	23.5	−5.9
	Labour	Margaret A. O'Neill	11,533	18.1	+5.0
	Green	Jim Tidy	612	1.0	New
	Natural Law	Janet I.R. Horvath	221	0.3	New
Majority			21,558	33.7	+6.2
Turnout			63,892	82.7	+4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.1

General election 1997: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	23,640	48.0	−9.2
	Labour	Barbara Withstandley	13,410	27.2	+9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Brown	9,467	19.2	−4.3
	Referendum	John Scrivenor	2,005	4.1	New
	UKIP	B. Bullen	502	1.0	New
	Natural Law	Gerard Valente	205	0.4	+0.1
Majority			10,230	20.8	−12.9
Turnout			49,229	75.8	−6.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	20,956	49.4	+1.4
	Labour	Victoria Hayman	12,706	29.9	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Canet	7,605	17.9	−1.3
	UKIP	Lynne Croucher	1,169	2.8	+1.8
Majority			8,250	19.5	−1.3
Turnout			42,436	64.3	−11.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.7

General election 2005: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	24,357	52.9	+3.5
	Labour	Victoria Hayman	11,005	23.9	−6.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Barstow	8,980	19.5	+1.6
	UKIP	Dave Waller	1,721	3.7	+0.9
Majority			13,352	29.0	+9.5
Turnout			46,063	67.3	+3.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.8

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stanley	29,723	57.9	+5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Simpson	11,545	22.5	+3.0
	Labour	Daniel Griffiths	6,476	12.6	−11.2
	UKIP	David Waller	1,911	3.7	−0.2
	Green	Steve Dawe	764	1.5	New
	National Front	Michael Easter	505	1.0	New
	English Democrat	Lisa Rogers	390	0.8	New
Majority			18,178	35.4	+6.4
Turnout			51,314	71.5	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.1

General election 2015: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Tugendhat	31,887	59.4	+1.5
	UKIP	Robert Izzard	8,153	15.2	+11.5
	Labour	Claire Leigh	7,604	14.2	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Varrall	3,660	6.8	−15.7
	Green	Howard Porter	2,366	4.4	+2.9
Majority			23,734	44.2	+8.8
Turnout			53,670	73.8	+2.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.0

General election 2017: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Tugendhat	36,218	63.6	+4.2
	Labour	Dylan Jones	12,710	22.3	+8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Miller	3,787	6.7	−0.1
	Green	April Clark	2,335	4.1	−0.3
	UKIP	Collin Bullen	1,857	3.3	−11.9
Majority			23,508	41.3	−2.9
Turnout			56,907	73.7	−0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.0

General election 2019: Tonbridge and Malling
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Tugendhat	35,784	62.8	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Morris	8,843	15.5	+8.8
	Labour	Dylan Jones	8,286	14.5	−7.8
	Green	April Clark	4,090	7.2	+3.1
Majority			26,941	47.3	+6.0
Turnout			57,003	73.7	0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

"Electorate Figures - Boundary Commission for England". 2015 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South East | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
"Neighbourhood Statistics". statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2003. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Tonbridge+and+Malling
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
"UK General Election results: February 1974 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"UK General Election results: October 1974 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"UK General Election results: June 1983 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"UK General Election results: June 1987 [Archive]". politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
http://www.tmbc.gov.uk/assets/Elections/WPE/WPE_TM_SoPN.pdf
"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
"Tom Tugendhat MP". Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
Tonbridge and Malling Labour Party. "@ClaireLeighLab, Labour PPC for Tonbridge Edenbridge & Malling". claireleigh4tonbridge.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
"General Election 2015 Candidates - Liberal Democrats". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
"Tonbridge & Malling Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.

External links

Tonbridge and Malling UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Tonbridge and Malling UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

v t e Tonbridge
Buildings	Castle Parish Church Priory Priory Mill Railway station Somerhill House † St. Stephen's Church Town Mill
Businesses	Imperial Records New Enterprise Coaches
Events	1968 floods 2006 Securitas depot robbery
People	Bishops of Tonbridge Old Juddians Old Tonbridgians People from Tonbridge
Political	Lowey of Tonbridge (11th-19th centuries) Tunbridge constituency (1885-1918) Tonbridge constituency (1918-74) Tonbridge and Malling constituency (1974-2024) Tonbridge constituency (since 2024) Tonbridge and Malling borough (since 1974) Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (since 1974) Local elections
Schools, colleges and universities	Hayesbrook Hillview Hugh Christie Judd Ridge View Somerhill † Thomas Delarue (closed) Tonbridge Tonbridge Grammar University of Kent Weald of Kent West Kent College Woodlands Yardley Court †
Sports, arts and leisure	Angel Ground Half Marathon Haysden Country Park KMFM West Kent Longmead Stadium Missing (TV series) Oast Theatre Tonbridge Angels F.C. Swimming Pool Tunbridge ware
Twin towns	Heusenstamm Le Puy-en-Velay
† Italics denotes building in Tudeley-cum-Capel civil parish

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