Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)

The Dartford constituency is located in Kent and lies just outside the boundaries of Greater London. It is roughly coterminous with the local government district of the same name. The constituency covers the large town of Dartford and its surrounding settlements, including the small town of Swanscombe and the villages of Greenhithe, Longfield and Maypole. Dartford has an industrial heritage and was a centre for cement, flour and paper manufacturing until the decline of industry in the 20th century.^[2][3] Today Dartford serves as a commuter town and is connected to central London by the Southeastern and Thameslink rail services.^[4][5]

Compared to the rest of the country, residents of the constituency have average levels of education and professional employment and above-average household income.^[6] At the 2021 census, White people made up 73% of the population, Black people were 11% and Asians were 10%.^[7] At the local borough council, most of the constituency is represented by Conservatives with some Labour councillors in Swanscombe and parts of Dartford. At the county council, all wards in the constituency elected Reform UK councillors. Voters in the constituency strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, with an estimated 64% in favour of Brexit.^[6]

The seat was created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. This Act added a net 18 seats, but its main purpose was to correct the over-representation of minor, if often old,boroughs and of depopulated county divisions. In their place were created new seats with a larger population. In Kent the Act finally abolished the Sandwich constituency, which sent two MPs until 1885. It also halved the representation of no fewer than four other historic towns. In contrast a seat for Dartford, the North-Western Division of Kent or North West Kent, was created.

The area of the seat, remaining a combination of urban, suburban and a small rural population, has been gradually reduced through its territory being contributed to new constituencies, their county designation later being changed in 1965 to become part of the new county of Greater London, which adjoins Dartford. These seats were Bexley, created in 1945, and Erith & Crayford, created in 1955.

Political history

In the early 20th century, the Dartford constituency was very much a bellwether. Dartford's results later shifted towards the left: in a by-election in 1938 and then in the general elections from 1951 to 1959, a Labour candidate won, going against the national result.

Since 1964, however, Dartford has alternated between Labour and the Conservatives in line with the national result, and has thus served as a bellwether again. Indeed, as of the 2024 General Election it is the longest-running bellwether constituency in the United Kingdom.^[8] Candidates for the largest two parties nationally have also polled first and second since 1923 in Dartford.

This was the first constituency contested by future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (then Margaret Roberts). She was the Conservative candidate at the 1950 and 1951 general elections, unsuccessful on both occasions.

1885–1918: The Sessional Division of Dartford, and part of the Sessional Division of Bromley.

1918–1945: The Urban Districts of Bexley, Dartford, and Erith, and in the Rural District of Dartford the parishes of Crayford, Stone, and Swanscombe.

1945–1955: The Boroughs of Dartford and Erith, and the Urban District of Crayford.

1955–1974: The Borough of Dartford, the Urban District of Swanscombe, and the Rural District of Dartford.

1974–1983: The Borough of Dartford, the Urban District of Swanscombe, and in the Rural District of Dartford the parishes of Darenth, Southfleet, Stone, Sutton-at-Hone, and Wilmington.

1983–1997: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Ash-cum-Ridley, Fawkham and Hartley, Horton Kirby, and Longfield.

1997–2010: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks wards of Fawkham and Hartley, and Horton Kirby.

2010–2024: The Borough of Dartford, and the District of Sevenoaks ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street.

2024–present: The Borough of Dartford wards of Bean & Village Park, Brent, Burnham, Darenth, Ebbsfleet, Greenhithe & Knockhall, Heath, Joyden's Wood, Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet, Maypole & Leyton Cross, Newtown, Princes, Stone Castle, Stone House, Swanscombe, Temple Hill, Town, and West Hill.^[9]

The electorate was reduced to bring it within the permitted range by transferring the District of Sevenoaks ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street to Tonbridge and the Dartford Borough ward of Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley to Sevenoaks.

West Kent prior to 1885

Election		Member[10]	Party
	1885	Sir William Hart Dyke	Conservative
	1906	James Rowlands	Liberal
	Jan 1910	William Foot Mitchell	Conservative
	Dec 1910	James Rowlands	Liberal
	1918		Coalition Liberal
	1920 by-election	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1922	George Jarrett	Constitutionalist
	1923	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1924	Angus McDonnell	Conservative
	1929	John Edmund Mills	Labour
	1931	Frank Clarke	Conservative
	1938 by-election	Jennie Adamson	Labour
1945		constituency split, with half becoming the new Bexley seat
	1945	Norman Dodds	Labour and Co-operative
	1955	Sydney Irving	Labour Co-op
	1970	Peter Trew	Conservative
	Feb 1974	Sydney Irving	Labour Co-op
	1979	Bob Dunn	Conservative
	1997	Howard Stoate	Labour
	2010	Gareth Johnson	Conservative
	2024	Jim Dickson	Labour

Summarize Timeline Top Qs Fact Check

General election 2024: Dartford^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Dickson	15,392	34.6	+5.1
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	14,200	31.9	−29.2
	Reform	Lee Stranders	9,523	21.4	N/A
	Green	Laura Edie	3,189	7.2	+4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Kyle Marsh	2,184	4.9	−2.1
Majority			1,192	2.7	N/A
Turnout			44,488	59.0	–5.5
Registered electors			75,426
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	18.1

2019 notional result[12]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	28,413	61.1
	Labour	13,709	29.5
	Liberal Democrats	3,251	7.0
	Green	1,115	2.4
Turnout		46,488	64.5
Electorate		72,048

General election 2019: Dartford^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	34,006	62.9	+5.3
	Labour	Sacha Gosine	14,846	27.5	−5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Kyle Marsh	3,736	6.9	+4.3
	Green	Mark Lindop	1,435	2.7	+1.2
Majority			19,160	35.4	+11.0
Turnout			54,023	65.7	−4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

General election 2017: Dartford^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	31,210	57.6	+8.6
	Labour	Bachchu Kaini	18,024	33.2	+7.8
	UKIP	Ben Fryer	2,544	4.7	−15.2
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Beard[16]	1,428	2.6	−0.2
	Green	Andrew Blatchford	807	1.5	−1.0
	Independent	Ola Adewunmi	211	0.4	New
Majority			13,186	24.4	+0.8
Turnout			54,224	69.8	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

General election 2015: Dartford^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson[19]	25,670	49.0	+0.2
	Labour	Simon Thomson[19]	13,325	25.4	−2.2
	UKIP	Elizabeth Jones	10,434	19.9	+16.2
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Beard	1,454	2.8	−11.9
	Green	Andy Blatchford	1,324	2.5	New
	English Democrat	Steve Uncles	211	0.4	−3.9
Majority			12,345	23.6	+2.4
Turnout			52,418	68.4	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.2

General election 2010: Dartford^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	24,428	48.8	+7.6
	Labour	John Adams	13,800	27.6	−15.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Willis	7,361	14.7	+4.6
	English Democrat	Gary Rogers	2,178	4.3	+1.7
	UKIP	Richard Palmer	1,842	3.7	+0.7
	Independent	Stephane Tindame	264	0.5	New
	Fancy Dress Party	Ernie Crockford	207	0.4	New
Majority			10,628	21.2	N/A
Turnout			50,080	65.7	+2.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+11.6

General election 2005: Dartford^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Howard Stoate	19,909	42.6	−5.4
	Conservative	Gareth Johnson	19,203	41.1	+0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Bucklitsch	5,036	10.8	+2.3
	UKIP	Mark Croucher	1,407	3.0	+0.8
	New England	Michael Tibby	1,224	2.6	New
Majority			706	1.5	−5.9
Turnout			46,779	63.2	+1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.9

General election 2001: Dartford^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Howard Stoate	21,466	48.0	−0.6
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	18,160	40.6	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Morgan	3,781	8.5	−0.9
	UKIP	Mark Croucher	989	2.2	New
	Fancy Dress Party	Keith Davenport	344	0.8	+0.3
Majority			3,306	7.4	−0.9
Turnout			44,740	61.9	−12.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1997: Dartford^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Howard Stoate	25,278	48.6	+12.4
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	20,950	40.3	−10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Webb	4,872	9.4	−2.8
	BNP	Paul McHale	424	0.8	New
	Fancy Dress Party	Peter Homden	287	0.5	+0.1
	Christian Democrat	James Pollitt	228	0.4	New
Majority			4,328	8.3	N/A
Turnout			52,039	74.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1992: Dartford^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	31,194	51.9	−1.6
	Labour	Howard Stoate	20,880	34.7	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Bryden	7,584	12.6	−5.6
	Fancy Dress Party	A Munro	262	0.4	−0.5
	Natural Law	Angela Holland	241	0.4	New
Majority			10,314	17.2	−8.8
Turnout			60,161	83.1	+4.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.4

General election 1987: Dartford^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	30,685	53.5	+1.9
	Labour	Barrie Clarke	15,756	27.5	+0.7
	SDP	Michael Bruce	10,439	18.2	−2.3
	Fancy Dress Party	Keith Davenport	491	0.9	+0.2
Majority			14,929	26.0	+1.2
Turnout			57,371	79.0	+2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1983: Dartford^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	28,199	51.6
	Labour	David Townsend	14,636	26.8
	Liberal	John Mills	11,204	20.5
	Fancy Dress Party	A Crockford	374	0.7
	National Front	GE Nye	282	0.5
Majority			13,563	24.8
Turnout			54,695	76.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1979: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Dunn	21,195	45.87
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	19,803	42.86
	Liberal	Ian Josephs	4,407	9.54
	National Front	I Nobbs	476	1.03
	Fancy Dress Party	J Beddowes	328	0.71	New
Majority			1,392	3.01	N/A
Turnout			46,209	80.35
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing

General election October 1974: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	20,817	47.64
	Conservative	Graham Bright	15,331	35.09
	Liberal	George H Dunk	6,606	15.12
	National Front	RH Aldous	939	2.15
Majority			5,486	12.55
Turnout			43,693	76.60
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+1.6

General election February 1974: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	19,803	41.98
	Conservative	Peter Trew	16,149	34.24
	Liberal	Ian Josephs	10,273	21.78
	National Front	RH Aldous	945	2.00	New
Majority			3,654	7.74	N/A
Turnout			47,170	83.44
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1970: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Trew	27,822	45.96
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	27,262	45.03
	Liberal	J Paul Johnson	5,453	9.01
Majority			560	0.93	N/A
Turnout			60,537	74.02
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing

General election 1966: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	29,547	49.84
	Conservative	Peter Trew	22,638	38.19
	Liberal	Peter Loftus	7,094	11.97
Majority			6,909	11.65
Turnout			59,279	80.80
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 1964: Dartford^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	27,371	46.46
	Conservative	James J Davis	22,496	38.18
	Liberal	Morris Janis	9,047	15.36
Majority			4,875	8.28
Turnout			58,914	81.48
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 1959: Dartford^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	25,323	45.83
	Conservative	Peter Walker	24,047	43.52
	Liberal	Barry Charles Davis	5,881	10.64	New
Majority			1,276	2.31
Turnout			55,251	82.96
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 1955: Dartford^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sydney Irving	25,928	54.40
	Conservative	Peter Walker	21,730	45.60
Majority			4,198	8.80
Turnout			47,658	80.98
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 1951: Dartford^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Norman Dodds	40,094	59.09
	Conservative	Margaret Roberts	27,760	40.91
Majority			12,334	18.18
Turnout			67,854	85.22
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+3.71

General election 1950: Dartford^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Norman Dodds	38,128	56.38
	Conservative	Margaret Roberts	24,490	36.21
	Liberal	Anthony H. Giles	5,011	7.41	New
Majority			13,638	20.17
Turnout			67,629	85.51
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

General election 1945: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Norman Dodds	36,665	68.38
	Conservative	Ralph Ernest Watkins Grubb	16,951	31.62
Majority			19,714	36.76
Turnout			53,616	74.89
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

• 1945 saw radical boundary changes, with half the constituency becoming part of the Bexley seat.

1938 Dartford by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jennie Adamson	46,514	52.39
	Conservative	Godfrey Mitchell	42,276	47.61
Majority			4,238	4.78	N/A
Turnout			88,790	68.00
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1935: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Clarke	38,242	51.79
	Labour	Jennie Adamson	35,596	48.21
Majority			2,646	3.58
Turnout			73,838	69.63
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election 1931: Dartford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Clarke	34,095	55.49
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	27,349	44.51
Majority			6,746	10.98	N/A
Turnout			61,444	79.01
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1929: Dartford^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	26,871	50.6	+1.6
	Unionist	Ashley Edwards	16,568	31.2	−19.8
	Liberal	John Woolfenden Williamson	9,689	18.2	New
Majority			10,303	19.4	N/A
Turnout			53,128	76.9	−2.3
Registered electors			69,070
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing	+10.7

General election 1924: Dartford^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Angus McDonnell	20,108	51.0	New
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	19,352	49.0	−5.2
Majority			756	3.0	N/A
Turnout			39,460	79.2	+9.2
Registered electors			49,804
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing	N/A

General election 1923: Dartford^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	18,329	54.2	+10.3
	Constitutionalist	George Jarrett	15,500	45.8	−3.8
Majority			2,829	8.4	N/A
Turnout			33,829	70.0	−1.2
Registered electors			48,320
	Labour gain from Constitutionalist		Swing	+7.1

General election 1922: Dartford^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Constitutionalist	George Jarrett	16,662	49.6	New
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	14,744	43.9	+15.3
	Liberal	Alison Garland	2,175	6.5	−64.9
Majority			1,918	5.7	N/A
Turnout			33,581	71.2	+23.3
Registered electors			47,132
	Constitutionalist gain from Liberal		Swing	N/A

1920 Dartford by-election^[35][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Edmund Mills	13,610	50.2	+21.6
	Liberal	Thomas Wing	4,562	16.8	−54.6
	Coalition Unionist	Richard Meller	4,221	15.5	New
	National	Reginald Applin	2,952	10.9	New
	Ind. Unionist	Frank Emil Fehr	1,802	6.6	New
Majority			9,048	33.4	N/A
Turnout			27,147	61.3	+13.4
Registered electors			44,281
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+38.1

General election 1918: Dartford^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Liberal	James Rowlands	15,626	71.4	+20.8
	Labour	William Ling	6,256	28.6	New
Majority			9,370	42.8	+41.6
Turnout			21,892	47.9	−36.5
Registered electors			45,666
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General Election 1914–15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: James Rowlands
• Unionist:

General election December 1910: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	James Rowlands	9,152	50.6	+2.8
	Conservative	William Foot Mitchell	8,918	49.4	−2.8
Majority			234	1.2	N/A
Turnout			18,070	84.4	−3.4
Registered electors			21,398
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.8

General election January 1910: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Foot Mitchell	9,807	52.2	+10.8
	Lib-Lab	James Rowlands	8,990	47.8	−10.8
Majority			817	4.4	N/A
Turnout			18,797	87.8	+5.4
Registered electors			21,398
	Conservative gain from Lib-Lab		Swing	+10.8

General election 1906: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	James Rowlands	9,532	58.6	New
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	6,728	41.4	N/A
Majority			2,804	17.2	N/A
Turnout			16,260	82.4	N/A
Registered electors			19,741
	Lib-Lab gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 1900: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

General election 1895: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	5,699	55.6	+2.7
	Liberal	Patteson Nickalls	4,557	44.4	−2.7
Majority			1,142	11.2	+5.4
Turnout			10,256	73.8	+3.4
Registered electors			13,888
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.7

General election 1892: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	5,294	52.9	−5.7
	Liberal	Jeremiah Lyon[38]	4,722	47.1	+5.7
Majority			572	5.8	−11.4
Turnout			10,016	70.4	+6.3
Registered electors			14,227
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.7

By-election, 2 Feb 1887: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	Unopposed
	Conservative hold

• Caused by Dyke's appointment as Vice-president of the Committee of the Council on Education.

General election 1886: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	4,198	58.6	+5.8
	Liberal	James Ebenezer Saunders	2,965	41.4	−5.8
Majority			1,233	17.2	+11.6
Turnout			7,163	64.1	−11.9
Registered electors			11,173
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.8

General election 1885: Dartford^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Hart Dyke	4,488	52.8
	Liberal	James Ebenezer Saunders	4,006	47.2
Majority			482	5.6
Turnout			8,494	76.0
Registered electors			11,173
	Conservative win (new seat)

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)