Herne Bay and Sandwich
UK Parliament constituency (since 2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herne Bay and Sandwich is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[2] Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election. It is represented by Roger Gale, of the Conservatives, who was MP for the predecessor seat of North Thanet from 1983 to 2024.
| Herne Bay and Sandwich | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundaries since 2024 | |
Boundary of Herne Bay and Sandwich in South East England | |
| County | Kent |
| Electorate | 76,028 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Roger Gale (Conservative) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from |
|
The constituency is named for the towns of Herne Bay and Sandwich in Kent.[3]
Constituency profile
The Herne Bay and Sandwich constituency is located in Kent and contains the mostly rural areas lying between Canterbury and the Isle of Thanet. Its largest settlement is the coastal town of Herne Bay, which has a population of around 40,000 when taken together with the connected village of Herne.[4][5] The constituency also covers the seaside resorts of Westgate-on-Sea and Birchington-on-Sea to the east of Herne Bay. These coastal towns, like many similar towns in England, experienced economic decline during the late 20th century with the decrease in domestic tourism. Deprivation in these areas is above average.[6] The inland, rural part of the constituency includes the small town of Sandwich and the villages of Minster-in-Thanet and Sturry. These areas have average levels of wealth.[6] House prices across the constituency are similar to the national average but lower than the rest of South East England.[7]
Compared to the rest of the country, residents of the constituency are older and have low levels of education. Household income is below average but rates of homeownership are high.[7] A high proportion of residents work in the health and construction industries.[8] White people made up 95% of the population at the 2021 census.[7] At the district council level, almost all seats in the constituency are represented by Conservatives, with some Labour Party councillors elected in Westgate-on-Sea. At the county council, which held elections in 2025, all seats in the constituency were won by Reform UK. An estimated 62% of voters in the constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, higher than the nationwide figure of 52%.[7]
Boundaries
The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):
- The City of Canterbury wards of: Beltinge; Greenhill; Herne & Broomfield; Heron; Reculver; Sturry; West Bay.
- The District of Dover wards of: Little Stour & Ashstone; Sandwich.
- The District of Thanet wards of: Birchington North; Birchington South; Garlinge; Thanet Villages; Westbrook; Westgate-on-Sea.[9]
It comprises the following areas of Kent:[10]
- Approximately 80% of the former North Thanet seat,[11] including Herne Bay, Birchington-on-Sea and Westgate-on-Sea
- Sandwich from South Thanet
- Sturry from Canterbury
Members of Parliament
North Thanet prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Roger Gale | Conservative | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Roger Gale | 17,243 | 35.3 | −29.1 | |
| Labour | Helen Whitehead | 14,744 | 30.2 | +5.8 | |
| Reform | Amelia Randall | 10,602 | 21.7 | N/A | |
| Green | Thea Barrett | 3,529 | 7.2 | +3.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Angie Curwen | 2,709 | 5.5 | −2.0 | |
| Majority | 2,499 | 5.1 | −34.9 | ||
| Turnout | 48,827 | 62.7 | −4.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 77,841 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −17.5 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 32,807 | 64.4 | |
| Labour | 12,435 | 24.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3,799 | 7.5 | |
| Green | 1,921 | 3.8 | |
| Turnout | 50,962 | 67.0 | |
| Electorate | 76,028 | ||