| Sittingbourne and Sheppey | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundaries since 2024
| |
Boundary of Sittingbourne and Sheppey in South East England
| |
| County | Kent |
| Electorate | 76,818 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements |
|
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 1997 |
| Member of Parliament | Kevin McKenna (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Faversham |
Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency[n 1]inKent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Kevin McKenna, a Labour politician and qualified nurse.[n 2]
1997–2010: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Eastern, Grove, Hartlip and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Newington, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, West Downs, Woodstock.
2010–2015: The Borough of Swale wards of Borden, Chalkwell, Grove, Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Leysdown and Warden, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, St Michael's, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, Teynham and Lynsted, West Downs, Woodstock.
2015–2024: The Borough of Swale wards of Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow; Borden and Grove Park; Chalkwell; Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch; Homewood; Kemsley; Milton Regis; Minster Cliffs; Murston; Queenborough and Halfway; Roman; Sheerness; Sheppey Central; Sheppey East; Teynham and Lynsted; The Meads; West Downs; and Woodstock.
Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the 2024 United Kingdom general election the constituency was reduced to bring its electorate within the permitted range by transferring the wards of Teynham and Lynstead, and West Downs to Faversham and Mid Kent.[2]
2024–present: The Borough of Swale wards of Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow; Borden and Grove Park; Chalkwell; Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch; Homewood; Kemsley; Milton Regis; Minster Cliffs; Murston; Queenborough and Halfway; Roman; Sheerness; Sheppey Central; Sheppey East; The Meads; and Woodstock.
The constituency was created in 1997, mostly from the former seat of Faversham. It covers some of the district of Swale, including Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey.[3]
The seat includes the industrial town of Sittingbourne, the port of Sheerness, as well as significant areas of natural conservation. Some of the traditional fruit-growing sector remains in this part of North Kent.[4] Residents voted strongly for Leave in the 2016 EU referendum, and are slightly poorer and less healthy than the UK average.[5]
The constituency has been a bellwether of the national result since its creation in 1997. The seat came extremely close to losing this status in the 2005 general election, when Labour held the seat by just 79 votes after a recount, even though the sitting MP, Derek Wyatt, was expecting to lose.[6]
Boundary changes which came into effect for the 2010 general election suggest that the Conservatives would have won the seat in 2005 on the new boundaries, though the estimated notional Conservative majority is extremely small, so that it could have gone either way.
Faversham prior to 1997
| Election | Member[7] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Derek Wyatt | Labour | |
| 2010 | Gordon Henderson | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Kevin McKenna | Labour | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Kevin McKenna[9] | 11,919 | 29.1 | +8.2 | |
| Conservative | Aisha Cuthbert[10] | 11,564 | 28.2 | -38.3 | |
| Reform UK | William Fotheringham-Bray[11] | 10,512 | 25.6 | New | |
| Swale Ind. | Mike Baldock[12] | 3,238 | 7.9 | New | |
| Green | Sam Banks[13] | 1,692 | 4.1 | +1.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Frances Kneller[14] | 1,321 | 3.2 | -3.1 | |
| Independent | Matt Brown | 529 | 1.3 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Mike Young | 223 | 0.5 | -0.4 | |
| Turnout | 40,998 | 52.0 | -9.0 | ||
| Majority | 355 | 0.9 | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gordon Henderson | 34,742 | 67.6 | +7.4 | |
| Labour | Clive Johnson | 10,263 | 20.0 | –10.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ben Martin | 3,213 | 6.3 | +3.6 | |
| Independent | Monique Bonney | 1,257 | 2.4 | New | |
| Green | Sam Collins | 1,188 | 2.3 | +1.2 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Mike Young | 404 | 0.8 | 0.0 | |
| Independent | Lee McCall | 327 | 0.6 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 24,479 | 47.6 | +18.0 | ||
| Turnout | 51,394 | 61.2 | –1.5 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +9.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gordon Henderson | 30,911 | 60.2 | +10.7 | |
| Labour | Mike Rolfe | 15,700 | 30.6 | +11.0 | |
| Independent | Mike Baldock | 2,133 | 4.2 | New | |
| Liberal Democrats | Keith Nevols | 1,392 | 2.7 | –0.5 | |
| Green | Mark Lindop | 558 | 1.1 | –1.3 | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Mike Young | 403 | 0.8 | +0.2 | |
| Independent | Lee McCall | 292 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 15,211 | 29.6 | +4.9 | ||
| Turnout | 51,389 | 62.7 | –2.3 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –0.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gordon Henderson | 24,425 | 49.5 | –0.5 | |
| UKIP | Richard Palmer[18] | 12,257 | 24.8 | +19.4 | |
| Labour | Guy Nicholson | 9,673 | 19.6 | –5.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Keith Nevols | 1,563 | 3.2 | –13.2 | |
| Green | Gary Miller | 1,185 | 2.4 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Mike Young | 275 | 0.6 | –0.1 | |
| Majority | 12,168 | 24.7 | –0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 49,378 | 65.0 | +0.5 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –10.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gordon Henderson | 24,313 | 50.0 | +8.2 | |
| Labour | Angela Harrison | 11,930 | 24.6 | –17.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Keith Nevols | 7,943 | 16.4 | +3.5 | |
| UKIP | Ian Davison | 2,610 | 5.4 | +3.1 | |
| BNP | Lawrence Tames | 1,305 | 2.7 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Mad Mike Young | 319 | 0.7 | New | |
| Independent | David Cassidy | 158 | 0.3 | New | |
| Majority | 12,383 | 25.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 48,578 | 64.5 | +10.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +12.7 | |||
Although its predecessor seat was narrowly retained by Labour in 2005, intervening boundary changes made the constituency notionally Conservative prior to the 2010 general election, and it is therefore listed as a hold rather than a gain. [20][21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Derek Wyatt | 17,051 | 41.8 | –4.0 | |
| Conservative | Gordon Henderson | 16,972 | 41.6 | +5.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Nelson | 5,183 | 12.7 | –1.4 | |
| UKIP | Stephen Dean | 926 | 2.3 | +0.6 | |
| Rock 'n' Roll Loony | Mad Mike Young | 479 | 1.2 | –0.6 | |
| Veritas | David Cassidy | 192 | 0.5 | New | |
| Majority | 79 | 0.2 | –9.1 | ||
| Turnout | 40,803 | 53.7 | –3.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –4.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Derek Wyatt | 17,340 | 45.8 | +5.2 | |
| Conservative | Adrian Lee | 13,831 | 36.5 | +0.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Elvina Lowe | 5,353 | 14.1 | –4.2 | |
| Rock 'n' Roll Loony | Mad Mike Young | 673 | 1.8 | New | |
| UKIP | Robert Oakley | 661 | 1.7 | +0.7 | |
| Majority | 3,509 | 9.3 | +5.1 | ||
| Turnout | 37,858 | 57.5 | –14.8 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +2.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Derek Wyatt | 18,723 | 40.6 | ||
| Conservative | Roger Moate | 16,794 | 36.4 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Roger Truelove | 8,447 | 18.3 | ||
| Referendum | Peter Moull | 1,082 | 2.3 | ||
| Monster Raving Loony | Chris "Screwy" Driver | 644 | 1.4 | ||
| UKIP | Nico Risi | 472 | 1.0 | ||
| Majority | 1,929 | 4.2 | |||
| Turnout | 46,162 | 72.3 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
51°23′N 0°44′E / 51.38°N 0.74°E / 51.38; 0.74
