|
Maidstone and The Weald is a county constituency which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Boundaries
The constituency is located in the middle of the county of Kent in south eastern England and includes parts of the areas of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells boroughs. Towns include Maidstone and Cranbrook and - until the next election - Tenterden.
History
The constituency was created for the 1997 general election, after the previous Maidstone constituency was split in two. The southeast Maidstone wards of Shepway and Park Wood and the rural wards east of the town joined Faversham in the new Faversham and Mid Kent constituency. The remaining two-thirds of the electorate in west/central Maidstone were reunited with the town wards that had been lost to Mid Kent in 1983, and joined by a rural part of the Weald to the south of the town, previously in the Tunbridge Wells constituency.
Most of the electorate live in urban Maidstone, which has some light industry but whose economy is increasingly dominated by the service sector (eg insurance). The south of the constituency is rural with significant orchards and market gardens. Many residents commute to London.
Boundary review
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England has made major changes to the existing constituency boundaries as a consequence of population changes across the county. One major change is that Tenterden will be lost to Ashford. The modified Maidstone and The Weald constituency is formed from the following electoral wards:
- Allington, Barming, Bridge, Coxheath, Hunton and Linton, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Loose, Marden and Yalding, North, South and Staplehurst from the borough of Maidstone.
- Benenden and Cranbrook, and Frittenden and Sissinghurst from Tunbridge Wells.
Members of Parliament
The MP for the seat since its creation in 1997 has been Ann Widdecombe of the Conservative Party. She was previously MP for the former seat of Maidstone from 1987, and served as a Home Office minister in the government of John Major from 1995 to 1997, and as Shadow Home Secretary from 1999 to 2001. She will be standing down at the next general election.
Elections
Notes
References
- T H B Oldfield, The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland (London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1816)
- 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)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
See also
Coordinates: 51°12′N 0°33′E / 51.2°N 0.55°E / 51.2; 0.55
|
