Maidstone (UK Parliament constituency)

Maidstone was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Maidstone
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Maidstone in Kent, showing boundaries used from 1983-1997
CountyKent
Major settlementsMaidstone
19181997
Number of membersOne
Replaced byMaidstone & The Weald
1560–1918
Number of members1560–1885: Two
1885–1918: One
Type of constituencyBorough constituency

The parliamentary borough of Maidstone returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1552 until 1885, when its representation was reduced to one member. The borough was abolished in 1918 and replaced with a county division of the same name, which was abolished for the 1997 general election, and partially replaced by the new Maidstone and The Weald constituency.

History

Before the 19th century

Maidstone was first enfranchised as a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament, in 1552; at the time it was one of the largest English towns not already represented, and was one of a number of boroughs either enfranchised or re-enfranchised during the reign of Edward VI. However, barely had it won the right than its charter was cancelled after the accession of Mary I as a punishment for the town's part in Wyatt's Rebellion. This was the only recorded instance of a borough's right to return MPs being directly revoked until Grampound was disfranchised for corruption in the 1820s (although there were other cases of temporary suspension or of the right lapsing through disuse in medieval times, when representation was less valued).

After the death of Mary I, Maidstone's right were restored, and it elected members to the Parliament of 1560, since when the constituency has been continuously represented. The borough consisted of the whole parish of Maidstone, although the boundaries had no practical effect - the right to vote was vested in the freemen of the town, whether or not they were resident within the borough, provided they were not receiving poor relief. In 1833, just after this franchise was reformed by the Great Reform Act, it was estimated that there were 845 freemen, of whom more than 300 lived over seven miles from the town, and 31 of whom were disqualified from voting because they were in receipt of alms. At the 1831 general election, between 600 and 670 men voted.

A borough of this size was too large to fall under the dominance of a local landowner as was usual in the case of the smaller constituencies in the Unreformed Parliament, and Maidstone remained comparatively free with elections sometimes vigorously contested (and usually expensive for the candidates), although the Finch and Marsham families both had a degree of influence over results in the 18th century. Namier describes in detail the Maidstone election of 1761, showing how at this period the organised divisions among the rank-and-file voters in competitive constituencies tended to be religious rather than party-political; the Whig faction in Maidstone drew its strength from the Nonconformists while the Tories were the Anglican establishment. Yet so complicated was the politics of the period that although the local Whigs had asked Rose Fuller, a personal friend of the Whig Prime Minister The Duke of Newcastle, to stand as their candidate Newcastle refused to support him; indeed, Newcastle used his government patronage to force those of the electors employed in the naval dockyard at Chatham to vote for the incumbent Tory MPs, to whom he had already promised his support before Fuller's candidacy was mooted. In the event, though, Fuller succeeded in being elected, many of the government employees defying Newcastle to support him.

After the Reform Act

At the time of the Reform Act, the population of the borough was 15,387, and it contained 3,018 houses. The boundaries of the borough remained unchanged until 1918. Under the reformed franchise, there were 1,108 electors registered to vote at the general election of 1832. The town continued grow so that by 1865 the electorate had reached 1,817, and this was almost doubled by the extension of the franchise in the second reform act, so that there were 3,420 registered electors for the 1868 general election.

The borough retained two MPs until 1885, when its representation was halved; at the 1885 general election the franchise now extended to 6,530 electors, voting for a population of around 35,000. This was a relatively small electorate for the period and made bribery a practical proposition, and Maidstone was one of a small number of constituencies where corruption was proved after the tightening of election law in the 1880s. Generally a fairly safe Conservative seat, the constituency elected a Liberal candidate against the national tide in 1900, but it was clear that corrupt practices had contributed to his victory and he was unseated on petition; the voters seem to have resented the petition, however, and also elected the Liberal candidate in the ensuing by-election. At the following election in 1906, Maidstone again swung in the opposite direction to the country as a whole, electing a Conservative - one of only five Unionist gains across the country - and the victor was again charged with corruption; on this occasion the candidate was acquitted, but one of the judges noted that "there exists among the voters of this borough a number of the lower class who expect, and are known to respect, a payment or reward for their votes... The proved cases of bribery extend through all the wards."

The county constituency

The borough was abolished with effect from the general election of 1918, but the Maidstone name was transferred to the new county division in which the town stood, which consisted of Maidstone itself and the Maidstone and Hollingbourne rural districts. This contained no towns of any size, but the villages collectively outvoted Maidstone. The new constituency was as safely Conservative as its predecessor, and its boundaries remained unaltered until 1983.

By the 1980s, population growth meant that the constituency was considerably oversized, with one of the largest electorates in England. In the 1983 boundary revisions, which for the first time reflected the local government boundary changes of the 1970s, the size of the Maidstone constituency was considerably reduced. The area to the north-east of the town, and two wards of the town itself, were moved into the new Mid Kent constituency; as these were strongly Conservative wards and there had been a Liberal surge in the area around the time the Liberal-SDP Alliance was formed, the Alliance had some hopes of making a breakthrough in the revised constituency. However, they could only cut the Tory majority to a little over 7,000 in 1983, John Wells taking over half the votes.

Boundary changes in 1997 saw the constituency abolished and replaced with a new Maidstone and The Weald county constituency. The Maidstone town wards which had been in Mid Kent since 1983 were included in the new seat, and a rural part of the Weald to the south of the town, previously in the Tunbridge Wells constituency was also included; but about a third of the electorate in the Maidstone constituency was transferred to the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency - this included the rural wards to the east of the town, but also the Shepway and Park Wood areas of Maidstone proper.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1560-1660

ParliamentFirst memberSecond member
1562/3Nicholas Barham[1]Henry Fisher[2]
1571Thomas WalsinghamNicholas St Leger [2]
1572Nicholas St LegerThomas Dannett [2]
1584Thomas RandolphMichael Sondes [2]
1586John AstleyThomas Randolph [2]
1588John AstleyThomas Randolph [2]
1593Sir Thomas FluddLewen Buffkyn [2]
1597Sir Thomas FluddSir John Leveson [2]
1601Sir Thomas FluddSir John Leveson [2]
1604-1611Sir Francis FaneLaurence Washington
1614Sir Francis FaneSir John Scott
1621-1622Sir Francis FaneSir Francis Barnham
1624Sir George FaneThomas Stanley
1625Edward MapletonThomas Stanley
1626Sir George FaneFrancis Barnham
1628Sir George FaneFrancis Barnham
1629–1640No Parliaments summoned
1640 (Apr)Sir George FaneSir Francis Barnham
1640 (Nov)Sir Francis Barnham,died Nov 1646Sir Humfrey Tufton
1645Thomas TwisdenSir Humfrey Tufton
not sat after Pride's Purge, Dec 1648
1648Thomas Twisden
excluded in Pride's Purge, Dec 1648
1653Maidstone was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament
1654Sir John Banks(One seat only)
1656Sir John Banks(One seat only)
1659Sir John BanksAndrew Broughton

MPs 1660-1885

YearFirst member[3]First partySecond member[3]Second party
April 1660 Thomas Twisden Robert Barnham
August 1660 Sir Edward Hales
1661 Sir Edmund Pierce
1668 Thomas Harlackenden
February 1679 Sir John Tufton Sir John Darell
August 1679 Thomas Fane
March 1685 Archibald Clinkard
November 1685 Edwin Wyatt
1689 Sir Thomas Taylor Caleb Banks
1690 Thomas Rider
1695 Sir John Banks
1696 Thomas Rider
1698 Sir Robert Marsham Thomas Bliss
July 1702 Sir Thomas Roberts
October 1702 Writ suspended - both seats vacant[4]
1704 Heneage Finch Thomas Bliss
1705 Sir Thomas Culpeper
1708 Sir Robert Marsham
1713 Sir Samuel Ongley
1715 Sir Thomas Culpeper
1716 Sir Barnham Rider
1722 John Finch
1723 Sir Barnham Rider
1727 Thomas Hope
1734 William Horsemonden-Turner
1740 Robert Fairfax
1741 Lord Guernsey John Bligh
1747 William Horsemonden-Turner Robert Fairfax
1753 Gabriel Hanger Tory
1754 Lord Guernsey
1757 Savile Finch
1761 Rose Fuller Whig William Northey Tory
1768 Hon. Charles Marsham Robert Gregory
1774 Sir Horatio Mann Lord Guernsey
1777 Hon. Charles Finch
1780 Clement Taylor Whig[5]
1784 Gerard Edwardes Tory[5]
1788 Sir Matthew Bloxham Tory[5]
1796 Major General Oliver de Lancey Tory[5]
1802 John Hodsdon Durand Whig[5]
1806 George Simson Tory[5] George Longman Whig[5]
1812 Egerton Brydges Tory[5]
1818 Abraham Wildey Robarts Whig[5] George Longman Whig[5]
1820 John Wells Tory[5]
1830 Henry Winchester Tory[5]
1831 Charles James Barnett Whig[5]
1835 Wyndham Lewis Conservative[5]
1837 Benjamin Disraeli Conservative[5]
1838 John Minet Fector Conservative[5]
1841 Alexander Hope Conservative[5] George Dodd [6] Conservative[5]
1852 James Whatman Radical[7][8][9]
1853 William Lee Radical[7][8][10]
1857 Alexander Beresford Hope Conservative Edward Scott Conservative
1859 Charles Buxton Liberal William Lee Liberal
1865 James Whatman Liberal
1870 Sir John Lubbock Liberal
1874 Sir Sydney Waterlow Liberal
1880 Alexander Henry Ross Conservative John Evans Freke-Aylmer Conservative
1885Representation reduced to one member

MPs 1885-1918

ElectionMember[3]Party
1885 Alexander Henry Ross Conservative
1888 Fiennes Cornwallis Conservative
1895 Sir Frederick Hunt Conservative
1898 Fiennes Cornwallis Conservative
1900 John Barker Liberal
1901 Sir Francis Evans Liberal
1906 Viscount Castlereagh Conservative
1915 Carlyon Bellairs Conservative
1918Borough abolished; county division created

Maidstone County Constituency (1918-1997)

ElectionMember[3]Party
1918 Carlyon Bellairs Conservative
1931 Alfred Bossom Conservative
1959 John Wells Conservative
1987 Ann Widdecombe Conservative
1997constituency abolished: see Maidstone and The Weald

Elections

Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 470 44.4
Tory Henry Winchester 387 36.6
Tory Philip Rawlings 195 18.4
Whig William George Tyssen Daniel Tyssen 6 0.6
Turnout 752 c.85.9
Registered electors c.875
Majority 83 7.8
Whig hold Swing
Majority 381 36.0
Tory hold Swing
General election 1831: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 478 38.1 6.3
Whig Charles James Barnett 441 35.2 +34.6
Tory Henry Winchester 185 14.8 21.8
Tory George Simson 150 12.0 6.4
Majority 256 20.4 +12.6
Turnout 654 c.74.7 c.11.2
Registered electors c.875
Whig hold Swing +3.9
Whig gain from Tory Swing +24.4
General election 1832: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 500 35.9 2.2
Whig Charles James Barnett 469 33.7 1.5
Tory Wyndham Lewis 422 30.3 +3.5
Majority 47 3.4 17.0
Turnout 873 78.8 c.+4.1
Registered electors 1,108
Whig hold Swing 2.0
Whig hold Swing 1.6
General election 1835: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wyndham Lewis 529 41.7 +11.4
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 398 31.4 4.5
Whig Charles James Barnett 333 26.3 7.4
Conservative Matthias Prime Lucas 5 0.4 N/A
Conservative E Hildyard 3 0.2 N/A
Turnout 907 73.5 5.3
Registered electors 1,234
Majority 131 10.3 N/A
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +11.7
Majority 393 31.0 +27.6
Whig hold Swing 5.1
General election 1837: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Wyndham Lewis 782 38.4 +17.6
Conservative Benjamin Disraeli 668 32.8 +12.0
Radical Thomas Perronet Thompson 559 27.5 New
Radical Thomas Erskine Perry 25 1.2 New
Majority 109 5.3 -5.0
Turnout 1,209 86.4 +12.9
Registered electors 1,399
Conservative hold Swing +17.6
Conservative gain from Whig Swing +12.0

Lewis' death caused a by-election.

By-election, 28 March 1838: Maidstone[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Minet Fector 708 54.8 16.4
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 583 45.2 N/A
Majority 125 9.6 +4.3
Turnout 1,291 87.0 +0.6
Registered electors 1,399
Conservative hold Swing 16.4

The by-election was declared void, causing another by-election.

By-election, 15 June 1838: Maidstone[5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Minet Fector 707 58.0 13.2
Whig Abraham Wildey Robarts 512 42.0 N/A
Majority 195 16.0 +10.7
Turnout 1,219 82.1 4.3
Registered electors 1,399
Conservative hold Swing 13.2

Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Maidstone (2 seats) [5][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Beresford Hope 765 40.1 +1.7
Conservative George Dodd 725 38.0 +5.2
Radical David Salomons[13] 418 21.9 6.8
Majority 307 16.1 +10.8
Turnout 1,152 69.4 17.0
Registered electors 1,660
Conservative hold Swing +2.6
Conservative hold Swing +4.3
General election 1847: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Beresford Hope Unopposed
Conservative George Dodd Unopposed
Registered electors 1,741
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical James Whatman 848 39.6 N/A
Conservative George Dodd 709 33.1 N/A
Radical William Lee 584 27.3 N/A
Turnout 1,071 (est) 61.1 (est) N/A
Registered electors 1,751
Majority 139 6.5 N/A
Radical gain from Conservative Swing N/A
Majority 125 5.8 N/A
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Dodd's election was declared void on petition due to treating by his agents, causing a by-election.[14]

By-election, 16 May 1853: Maidstone [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Radical William Lee 748 50.3 16.6
Peelite Charles Wykeham Martin[10][15] 738 49.7 +16.6
Majority 10 0.6 N/A
Turnout 1,486 81.9 +20.8
Registered electors 1,814
Radical gain from Conservative Swing 16.6
General election 1857: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Beresford Hope 801 27.6 +11.0
Conservative Edward Scott 759 26.1 +9.5
Radical William Lee 689 23.7 3.6
Whig Humphrey Francis St John-Mildmay[16][17] 655 22.6 17.0
Majority 70 2.4 3.4
Turnout 1,452 (est) 90.1 (est) +29.0
Registered electors 1,611
Conservative hold Swing +10.7
Conservative gain from Radical Swing +9.9
General election 1859: Maidstone (2 seats) [12][18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Lee 776 25.4 +1.7
Liberal Charles Buxton 776 25.4 +2.8
Conservative John Wardlaw 751 24.6 3.0
Conservative Egerton Vernon-Harcourt 749 24.5 1.6
Majority 25 0.8 N/A
Turnout 1,526 (est) 82.6 (est) 7.5
Registered electors 1,848
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.0
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.6

Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Lee 869 25.7 +0.3
Liberal James Whatman 867 25.7 +0.3
Conservative Edward Betts 838 24.8 +0.2
Conservative John Wardlaw[19] 801 23.7 0.8
Majority 29 0.9 +0.1
Turnout 1,688 (est) 92.9 (est) +10.3
Registered electors 1,817
Liberal hold Swing +0.3
Liberal hold Swing +0.3
General election 1868: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Lee 1,569 26.6 +0.9
Liberal James Whatman 1,546 26.2 +0.5
Conservative William Foster White[20] 1,412 23.9 0.9
Conservative George Parbury[21] 1,369 23.2 0.5
Majority 134 2.3 +1.4
Turnout 2,948 (est) 86.2 (est) 6.7
Registered electors 3,420
Liberal hold Swing +0.8
Liberal hold Swing +0.6

Elections in the 1870s

Lee's resignation caused a by-election.

By-election, 25 Feb 1870: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Lubbock 1,504 51.8 1.0
Conservative William Foster White[20] 1,402 48.2 +1.1
Majority 102 3.4 +1.1
Turnout 2,906 90.4 +4.2
Registered electors 3,214
Liberal hold Swing 1.1
General election 1874: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Lubbock 1,558 26.7 +0.1
Liberal Sydney Waterlow 1,491 25.6 0.6
Conservative Alexander Henry Ross 1,414 24.3 +0.4
Conservative John Constantine Stanley 1,365 23.4 +0.2
Majority 77 1.3 1.0
Turnout 2,914 (est) 82.9 (est) 3.3
Registered electors 3,517
Liberal hold Swing 0.1
Liberal hold Swing 0.5

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Maidstone (2 seats) [12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Henry Ross 1,965 27.5 +3.2
Conservative John Evans Freke-Aylmer 1,832 25.6 +2.2
Liberal John Lubbock 1,725 24.1 2.6
Liberal Sydney Waterlow 1,624 22.7 2.9
Majority 107 1.5 N/A
Turnout 3,573 (est) 92.1 (est) +9.2
Registered electors 3,878
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.9
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.6
General election 1885: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Henry Ross 2,184 54.3 +1.2
Liberal Martin Hume 1,839 45.7 1.1
Majority 345 8.6 +7.1
Turnout 4,023 94.1 +2.0 (est)
Registered electors 4,273
Conservative hold Swing +1.2
General election 1886: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alexander Henry Ross 1,917 54.5 +0.2
Liberal Thomas Proctor Baptie[23] 1,603 45.5 0.2
Majority 314 9.0 +0.4
Turnout 3,520 82.4 11.7
Registered electors 4,273
Conservative hold Swing +0.2

Ross' death caused a by-election.

F.S.W. Cornwallis
By-election, 14 Dec 1888: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fiennes Cornwallis 2,050 52.4 2.1
Liberal John Barker 1,865 47.6 +2.1
Majority 185 4.8 4.2
Turnout 3,915 86.6 +4.2
Registered electors 4,519
Conservative hold Swing 2.1

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fiennes Cornwallis 2,443 60.0 +5.5
Liberal Thomas Nussey 1,627 40.0 5.5
Majority 816 20.0 +11.0
Turnout 4,070 86.1 +3.7
Registered electors 4,729
Conservative hold Swing +5.5
General election 1895: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Hunt Unopposed
Conservative hold
1898 Maidstone by-election[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fiennes Cornwallis 2,214 52.1 N/A
Liberal John Barker 2,036 47.9 New
Majority 178 4.2 N/A
Turnout 4,250 87.4 N/A
Registered electors 4,865
Conservative hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1900s

John Barker
General election 1900: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal John Barker 2,201 50.4 N/A
Conservative Fiennes Cornwallis 2,163 49.6 N/A
Majority 38 0.8 N/A
Turnout 4,364 86.1 N/A
Registered electors 5,068
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A
  • unseated on petition
1901 Maidstone by-election[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Francis Evans 2,375 52.1 +1.7
Conservative Thomas Milvain 2,182 47.9 1.7
Majority 193 4.2 +3.4
Turnout 4,557 88.1 +2.0
Registered electors 5,170
Liberal hold Swing +1.7
General election 1906: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart 2,841 51.2 +0.8
Liberal Francis Evans 2,709 48.8 -0.8
Majority 132 2.4 N/A
Turnout 5,550 94.5 +8.4
Registered electors 5,870
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +1.6

Elections in the 1910s

Vivian Phillipps
General election January 1910: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Viscount Castlereagh 3,094 52.1 +0.9
Liberal Vivian Phillipps 2,847 47.9 0.9
Majority 247 4.2 +1.8
Turnout 5,941 94.0 +0.4
Registered electors 6,260
Conservative hold Swing +0.9
General election December 1910: Maidstone [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Viscount Castlereagh 2,906 50.6 -1.5
Liberal Vivian Phillipps 2,836 49.4 +1.5
Majority 70 1.2 -3.0
Turnout 5,742 91.7 3.2
Registered electors 6,260
Conservative hold Swing -1.5
C.W. Bellairs
1915 Maidstone by-election[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Carlyon Bellairs Unopposed
Unionist hold
General election 1918: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Unionist Carlyon Bellairs 11,931 65.5 +14.9
Labour Frederick Burgess 6,277 34.5 New
Majority 5,654 31.0 +29.8
Turnout 18,208 59.2 32.5
Registered electors 30,747
Unionist hold Swing N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Carlyon Bellairs 8,928 34.6 30.9
Liberal George Foster Clark 8,895 34.4 New
Labour Hugh Dalton 8,004 31.0 3.5
Majority 33 0.2 30.8
Turnout 25,827 78.5 +19.3
Registered electors 32,916
Unionist hold Swing 13.7
General election 1923: Maidstone [24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Carlyon Bellairs 11,244 41.9 +7.3
Liberal George Foster Clark 9,047 33.7 0.7
Labour Seymour Cocks 6,558 24.4 6.6
Majority 2,197 8.2 +8.0
Turnout 26,849 78.9 +0.4
Registered electors 34,037
Unionist hold Swing +4.0
General election 1924: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Carlyon Bellairs 16,121 66.3 +24.4
Labour Seymour Cocks 8,192 33.7 +9.3
Majority 7,929 32.6 +24.4
Turnout 24,313 69.8 9.1
Registered electors 34,811
Unionist hold Swing +7.6
General election 1929: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Carlyon Bellairs 14,254 40.8 25.5
Labour John Morgan 10,419 29.9 3.8
Liberal Thomas Fairchild Day 10,222 29.3 New
Majority 3,835 10.9 21.7
Turnout 34,895 77.0 +7.2
Registered electors 45,317
Unionist hold Swing 10.9

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Maidstone[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 27,394 80.2 +39.4
Labour Gertrude Speedwell Massingham 6,770 19.8 -10.1
Majority 20,624 60.4 +49.5
Turnout 34,164 72.3 -4.7
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1935: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 24,644 72.5 -7.7
Labour JW MacAlpine 9,340 27.5 +7.7
Majority 15,304 45.0 -15.4
Turnout 33,984 67.4 +7.0
Conservative hold Swing

General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Maidstone[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 21,320 53.3 -19.2
Labour Otto Leslie Shaw 18,295 45.7 +18.2
Democratic G Murray 416 1.0 New
Majority 3,025 7.6 -37.4
Turnout 40,031 71.0 +3.6
Conservative hold Swing -18.7

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Maidstone[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 25,008 51.11
Labour Henry Albert White 18,377 37.56
Liberal Thomas Frederick Rice 5,546 11.33 New
Majority 6,631 13.55
Turnout 48,931 81.78
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1951: Maidstone[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 27,606 56.61
Labour Henry Albert White 21,159 43.39
Majority 6,447 13.22
Turnout 48,765 80.54
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1955: Maidstone[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alfred Bossom 27,267 57.9 +1.3
Labour Otto L Shaw 19,861 42.1 -1.3
Majority 7,406 15.8 +2.6
Turnout 47,128 77.08 -10.4
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1959: Maidstone[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 30,115 60.5 +2.6
Labour A B Spencer Soper 19,652 39.5 -2.6
Majority 2,240 21.0 +4.2
Turnout 49,767 78.6 +1.5
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Maidstone[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 25,079 46.9 -13.6
Labour James Daly 17,143 32.1 -4.4
Liberal Stanley Blow 11,244 21.0 New
Majority 7,936 14.8 -6.2
Turnout 53,467 78.0 -0.6
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1966: Maidstone[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 29,208 54.7 +7.8
Labour Michael J O'Flaherty 24,214 45.3 +13.2
Majority 4,994 9.4 -5.4
Turnout 53,422 74.3 -3.7
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Maidstone[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 31,316 51.4 -3.3
Labour Kenneth M Graham 18,473 30.3 -15.0
Liberal Stanley Blow 11,167 18.3 New
Majority 12,843 21.1 +11.7
Turnout 60,959 72.1 -2.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election February 1974: Maidstone[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 31,334 44.1 -7.3
Liberal Edward Harrison 23,678 33.3 +15.0
Labour R Arndell 16,006 22.5 -7.8
Majority 7,656 10.8 -10.3
Turnout 71,014 81.3 +9.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election October 1974: Maidstone[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 28,852 44.2 +0.1
Liberal Julian F Burnett 18,581 28.5 -4.8
Labour Kenneth M Graham 17,828 27.3 +4.8
Majority 10,271 15.7 +4.9
Turnout 65,260 74.0 -7.3
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1979: Maidstone[34]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 37,727 52.6 +8.4
Liberal Julian F Burnett 16,676 23.2 -5.3
Labour R Evans 16,632 23.2 -4.1
National Front Arthur Dennis Whiting 703 1.0 New
Majority 21,051 29.3 +13.6
Turnout 71,734 77.0 +3.0
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Maidstone[35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Wells 26,420 50.9 -1.7
Alliance Julian F Burnett 19,194 37.0 +13.8
Labour GT Carey 6,280 12.1 -11.1
Majority 7,226 13.9 -15.4
Turnout 51,895 73.8 -3.2
Conservative hold Swing
General election 1987:Maidstone[35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ann Widdecombe 29,100 52.4 +1.5
Alliance Christopher Sutton-Mattocks 18,736 33.8 -3.2
Labour Kevin Brooks 6,935 12.5 +0.4
Green Penelope Kemp 717 1.3 New
Majority 10,364 18.6 +4.7
Turnout 55,488 76.02 +2.2
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Maidstone[36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ann Widdecombe 31,611 54.2 +1.8
Liberal Democrats PG Yates 15,325 26.3 7.5
Labour AFH Logan 10,517 18.0 +5.5
Green Penelope Kemp 707 1.2 0.1
Natural Law FJ Ingram 172 0.3 New
Majority 16,286 27.9 +9.3
Turnout 58,332 80.1 +4.1
Conservative hold Swing +4.6

See also

Notes and references

  1. "Barham, Nicholas" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  2. "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)
  4. At the election of 1702, Marsham and Roberts were returned as elected, and their opponents, Sir Thomas Twisden and Thomas Bliss, petitioned against the result. The Commons on investigation found all four candidates guilty of "bribery and other unlawful practices", declared the election void and resolved that no writ for a new election should be issued until the end of the session
  5. Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. pp. 166–169. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  6. Dodd was re-elected in 1852 but the election was declared void on petition, and a by-election was held
  7. "Elections in Kent". Kentish Gazette. 13 July 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Maidstone". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 10 July 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Notice to Correspondents". Sussex Agricultural Express. 4 April 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Cambridge Chronicle and Journal". 21 May 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. Farrell, Stephen. "Maidstone". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (e-book) |format= requires |url= (help) (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
  13. "Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser". 3 July 1841. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "Carlisle Journal". 27 May 1853. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "Maidstone". Sussex Advertiser. 17 May 1853. p. 7. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "South Eastern Gazette". 24 March 1857. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Nominations". Morning Chronicle. 28 March 1857. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  18. "Borough of Maidstone". South Eastern Gazette. 26 April 1859. p. 8. Retrieved 27 May 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  19. "Maidstone". Kentish Gazette. Kent. 18 July 1865. p. 7. Retrieved 1 March 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. "Maidstone Election". Kentish Independent. 5 March 1870. p. 8. Retrieved 6 January 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. "Great Conservative Meeting in Maidstone". Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser. Kent. 28 September 1868. p. 9. Retrieved 1 March 2018 via British Newspaper Archive.
  22. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  23. "The General Election". Huddersfield Chronicle. 2 July 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 3 December 2017 via British Newspaper Archive.
  24. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  25. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  26. Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
  27. British parliamentary election results, 1950-1973 by FWS Craig
  28. "UK General Election results: October 1959 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  29. "UK General Election results: October 1964 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  30. "UK General Election results: March 1966 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  31. "UK General Election results 1970 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  32. "UK General Election results: February 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  33. "UK General Election results: October 1974 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  34. "UK General Election results: May 1979 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  35. "UK General Election results: June 1983 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  36. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

Sources

  • Robert Beatson, "A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament" (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807)
  • D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
  • F W S Craig, "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885" (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
  • T. H. B. Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
  • J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)
  • Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt, The Unreformed House of Commons (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
  • Lewis Namier, The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd edition - London: St Martin's Press, 1961)
  • Henry Pelling, Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910 (London: Macmillan, 1967)
  • Robert Waller, The Almanac of British Politics (1st edition, London: Croom Helm, 1983; 5th edition, London: Routledge, 1996)
  • Frederic A Youngs, jr, "Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol I" (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979)
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