Weald of Kent is a
constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
. Further to the completion of the
2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...
, it was first contested at the
2024 general election. The current MP is
Katie Lam.
Constituency profile
This is one of the most rural seats in the South East, unlike its neighbours which each include at least one large town. House prices and incomes are significantly above UK averages.
Electoral Calculus
Electoral Calculus is a political consultancy and pollster, known for its political forecasting website that attempts to predict future United Kingdom general election results. It uses MRP (Multi-level Regression and Post-stratification) to c ...
characterises the proposed seat as "Strong Right", with right-wing economic and social views, high home ownership levels and strong support for Brexit.
Boundaries
Under the 2023 review, the constituency was defined as comprising the following, as they existed on 1 December 2020:
* The Borough of Ashford wards of: Biddenden, Charing, Downs North
hilham Downs West
hallock Isle of Oxney, Kingsnorth Village & Bridgefield, Rolvenden & Tenterden West, Tenterden North, Tenterden South, Tenterden St Michael's, Weald Central
ethersden Weald North
marden and Weald South
amstreet & Woodchurch
*The Borough of Maidstone wards of: Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton, Coxheath and Hunton, Headcorn & Sutton Valence, Loose, Marden and Yalding, Staplehurst, and Sutton Valence and Langley;
*The Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of: Benenden and Cranbrook, and Frittenden and Sissinghurst.
Following local government boundary reviews in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells which came into effect in May 2024, the constituency now comprises the following from the 2024 general election:
*The Borough of Ashford wards of: Biddenden; Charing; Downs North; Downs West; Isle of Oxney; Kingsnorth Village & Bridgefield; Rolvenden & Tenterden West; Tenterden North; Tenterden South; Tenterden St Michael's; Weald Central; Weald North; Weald South.
*The Borough of Maidstone wards or part wards of: Boughton Monchelsea & Chart Sutton (most); Coxheath & Farleigh; Headcorn & Sutton Valence; Leeds & Langley (Langley parish); Loose & Linton (part); Marden & Yalding; Staplehurst.
*The Borough of Tunbridge Wells ward of Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Frittenden; and the Berenden parish of the Hawkhurst, Sandhurst and Berenden ward.
The seat is a mostly rural area in the centre of Kent, including
Tenterden
Tenterden is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The 2021 census published the population of the parish to be 8,186.
Geography
Tenterden is connected to Kent's county town of Maidstone by the A262 road an ...
,
Coxheath,
Staplehurst
Staplehurst is a town and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England, south of the town of Maidstone and with a population of 5,947. The town lies on the route of a Roman road, which is now incorporated into the course of the A2 ...
,
Headcorn and
Cranbrook. The seat was previously part of the
Ashford,
Maidstone and the Weald, and
Faversham and Mid Kent constituencies.
Members of Parliament
''
Ashford and
Maidstone and the Weald prior to 2024''
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
See also
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent
*
List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)
References
External links
Weald of Kent UK Parliament constituency(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK''
{{coord, 51.11, 0.69, region:GB, display=title
Parliamentary constituencies in Kent
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2024