Gillingham (UK Parliament constituency)

Gillingham was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Gillingham
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Gillingham in Kent for the 2005 general election
Location of Kent within England
County	Kent
Major settlements	Gillingham and Rainham
1918–2010
Created from	Rochester, Chatham and Faversham
Replaced by	Gillingham and Rainham

Boundaries

1918–1950: The Municipal Borough of Gillingham, part of the Municipal Borough of Rochester, and the Municipal Borough of Chatham ward of St Mary.

1950–1983: The Municipal Borough of Gillingham.

1983–1997: The Borough of Gillingham, and the Borough of Swale ward of Hartlip and Upchurch.

1997–2010: The Borough of Gillingham.

The constituency was based around the towns of Gillingham and Rainham, which at that time were in Kent.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England abolished Gillingham, replacing it with the renamed constituency of Gillingham and Rainham.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[1]	Party
	1918	Sir Gerald Hohler	Conservative
	1929	Sir Robert Gower	Conservative
	1945	Joseph Binns	Labour
	1950	Sir Frederick Burden	Conservative
	1983	James Couchman	Conservative
	1997	Paul Clark	Labour
	2010	Constituency abolished: see extended constituency of Gillingham and Rainham.

Election results

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Gillingham^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Clark	18,621	41.2	−3.3
	Conservative	Tim Butcher	18,367	40.7	+1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Stamp	6,734	14.9	+1.3
	UKIP	Craig Mackinlay	1,191	2.6	+0.4
	Independent	Gordon Bryan	254	0.6	New
Majority			254	0.5	−4.9
Turnout			45,167	62.5	+3.0
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.4

General election 2001: Gillingham^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Clark	18,782	44.5	+4.7
	Conservative	Tim Butcher	16,510	39.1	+3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Hunt	5,755	13.6	−5.4
	UKIP	Tony Scholefield	933	2.2	+1.0
	Socialist Alliance	Wynford Thomas	232	0.5	New
Majority			2,272	5.4	+2.5
Turnout			42,212	59.5	−12.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.7

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Gillingham^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Clark	20,187	39.8
	Conservative	James Couchman	18,207	35.9
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Sayer	9,649	19.0
	Referendum	Geoffrey Cann	1,492	2.9	New
	UKIP	Craig Mackinlay	590	1.2
	Monster Raving Loony	David Robinson	305	0.6	New
	BNP	Christopher Jury	194	0.4	New
	Natural Law	Gabriel Duguay	58	0.1
Majority			1,980	2.9	N/A
Turnout			50,682	72.0	−8.3
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+16.0

General election 1992: Gillingham^[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Couchman	30,201	52.3	−0.8
	Labour	Paul Clark	13,563	23.5	+6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Wallabank	13,509	23.4	−6.5
	Independent	Craig Mackinlay	248	0.4	New
	Natural Law	Daniel Jolicoeur	190	0.3	New
Majority			16,638	28.8	+5.6
Turnout			57,711	80.3	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.6

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1987: Gillingham^[7][8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Couchman	28,711	53.1	+1.4
	Liberal	Leighton Andrews	16,162	29.9	−0.6
	Labour	David Bishop	9,230	17.0	−0.8
Majority			12,549	23.2	+2.0
Turnout			54,100	75.3	+1.7
Registered electors			71,847
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.0

General election 1983: Gillingham^[10][8][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Couchman	26,381	51.7	−1.4
	Alliance	Christopher Lewcock	15,538	30.5	+18.2
	Labour	Antony West	9,084	17.8	−14.5
Majority			10,843	21.2	+0.4
Turnout			51,003	73.6	−5.2
Registered electors			69,256
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Gillingham^[12][13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	26,791	53.13	+12.74
	Labour	Stephen Love	16,292	32.31	+0.39
	Liberal	David Sidebottom	6,219	12.33	− 13.40
	National Front	Sidney Campbell	528	1.05	−0.91
	Ecology	Colin Fry	501	0.99	New
	Workers Revolutionary	Terence Beckwith	92	0.18	New
Majority			10,499	20.82	+12.35
Turnout			50,425	78.85	+2.94
Registered electors			63,951
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.18

General election October 1974: Gillingham^[12][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	19,042	40.39	−0.79
	Labour	Henry Clother	15,046	31.92	+2.31
	Liberal	Trevor Jones	12,131	25.73	−3.88
	National Front	Sidney Campbell	922	1.96	New
Majority			3,996	8.47	−3.10
Turnout			47,139	75.91	−6.75
Registered electors			62,099
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.55

General election February 1974: Gillingham^[12][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	20,934	41.18	−16.66
	Liberal	Robert Sayer	15,052	29.61	New
	Labour	Henry Clother	14,850	29.21	−11.95
Majority			5,882	11.57	−6.11
Turnout			50,834	82.66	+9.30
Registered electors			61,498
	Conservative hold		Swing	-23.14

General election 1970: Gillingham^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	25,813	58.84	+9.34
	Labour	Robert E. Bean	18,057	41.16	−0.63
Majority			7,756	17.68	+9.97
Turnout			43,870	73.36	−5.14
Registered electors			59,800
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.99

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Gillingham ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	20,158	49.50	−1.85
	Labour	Joseph Binns	17,018	41.79	+4.77
	Liberal	Godfrey A Payne	3,546	8.71	−1.58
Majority			3,140	7.71	−6.62
Turnout			40,722	78.50	+0.45
Registered electors			51,874
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.31

General election 1964: Gillingham ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	20,228	51.35	−7.98
	Labour	John Ryman	14,584	37.02	−3.65
	Liberal	Godfrey A Payne	4,052	10.29	New
	Independent	Frederick Cotter	527	1.34	New
Majority			5,644	14.33	−4.33
Turnout			39,391	78.05	−2.56
Registered electors			50,471
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.17

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Gillingham ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	23,142	59.33	+3.85
	Labour	Gerald Kaufman	15,863	40.67	−3.85
Majority			7,279	18.66	+7.70
Turnout			39,005	80.61	+1.08
Registered electors			48,390
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.85

General election 1955: Gillingham ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	20,984	55.48	+1.77
	Labour	Joseph Huddart	16,839	44.52	−1.77
Majority			4,145	10.96	+3.54
Turnout			37,823	79.53	−5.94
Registered electors			47,561
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.77

General election 1951: Gillingham ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	21,453	53.71	+1.04
	Labour	Edward Redhead	18,489	46.29	−1.04
Majority			2,964	7.42	+2.08
Turnout			39,942	85.47	+0.60
Registered electors			46,731
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.04

General election 1950: Gillingham ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burden	20,504	52.67	+5.94
	Labour	Joseph Binns	18,424	47.33	−5.94
Majority			2,080	5.34	N/A
Turnout			38,928	84.87	+13.54
Registered electors			45,866
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+5.94

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Gillingham ^[23][24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Binns	15,110	53.27	+18.39
	Conservative	Johnnie Dodge	13,254	46.73	−18.39
Majority			1,856	6.54	N/A
Turnout			28,364	71.33	−0.08
Registered electors			39,765
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+18.39

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1935: Gillingham ^[23][24][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gower	18,726	65.12	−3.90
	Labour	Evan Durbin	10,032	34.88	+3.90
Majority			8,694	30.24	−7.80
Turnout			28,758	71.41	−2.66
Registered electors			40,271
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.90

General election 1931: Gillingham ^[23][24][27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Gower	20,277	69.02	+21.05
	Labour	CM Wadham	9,103	30.98	−8.52
Majority			11,174	38.04	+29.57
Turnout			29,380	74.07	+0.05
Registered electors			39,664
	Conservative hold		Swing	+14.79

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1929: Gillingham ^[28][23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Robert Gower	13,612	47.97	−4.72
	Labour	George Pearce Blizard	11,207	39.50	+4.24
	Liberal	R Ronald Tyrer	3,556	12.53	−4.90
Majority			2,405	8.47	−3.97
Turnout			28,375	74.02	−3.98
Registered electors			38,336
	Unionist hold		Swing	-4.48

General election 1924: Gillingham^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Gerald Hohler	12,418	52.69	+5.55
	Labour	Maurice Spencer	8,309	35.26	+0.56
	Liberal	George Herbert Bryans	2,839	17.43	+5.38
Majority			4,109	12.44	−3.84
Turnout			23,566	78.00	+4.08
Registered electors			30,212
	Unionist hold		Swing	+2.50

General election 1923: Gillingham ^[28][23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Gerald Hohler	10,426	47.14	−11.00
	Labour	Maurice Spencer	7,674	34.70	−7.16
	Liberal	George Herbert Bryans	4,015	18.16	New
Majority			2,752	12.44	−3.84
Turnout			22,115	73.92	+1.63
Registered electors			29,919
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.92

General election 1922: Gillingham^[23][24][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Gerald Hohler	12,425	58.14	−10.44
	Labour	Maurice Spencer	8,944	41.86	+15.95
Majority			3,481	16.28	−26.39
Turnout			21,369	72.29	+7.19
Registered electors			29,560
	Unionist hold		Swing	-13.20

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Gillingham^{[23][24][28][29]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	Gerald Hohler	12,455	68.58
	Labour	Alfred William Tapp	4,705	25.91
	Independent	Joseph Bryan Cronin*	1,001	5.51
Majority			7,750	42.67
Turnout			18,161	65.10
Registered electors			27,899
	Unionist win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

* Cronin was supported by the Lower Deck Parliamentary Committee

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 1)
2. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
3. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
4. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
5. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
7. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
8. "'Gillingham', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
9. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1987". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
10. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1983". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
12. "'Gillingham', Feb 1974 - May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
13. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
14. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
15. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
16. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
17. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1966". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
18. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
19. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1959". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
20. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
21. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
22. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
23. "Rochester Gillingham PBDivCon through time - Political Life Statistics - Groupings of Political Parties". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
24. "Rochester Gillingham PBDivCon through time - Political Life Statistics - Total Electorate". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
25. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1945". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
26. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1935". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
27. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1931". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
28. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
29. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench

External links

• Gillingham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK

51°23′N 0°33′E