County Kent Created 1950 Member of parliament Damian Collins Major settlements Folkestone, Hythe | Electorate 84,156 (December 2010) European Parliament constituency South East England Number of members 1 | |
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Folkestone and Hythe /ˈfoʊkstən.əndˈhaɪð/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Its MP is Damian Collins, a Conservative.
Contents
Boundaries and profile
1950-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Folkestone, Hythe, Lydd, and New Romney, and the Rural Districts of Elham and Romney Marsh.
1983-2010: The District of Shepway.
2010-present: The District of Shepway, and the Borough of Ashford ward of Saxon Shore.
Folkestone and Hythe consists of a hilly swathe of East Kent including the coastal towns of Folkestone and Hythe, in the south east of England. An urban area exists in and small suburban area around Folkestone and Hythe whereas rural communities of New Romney (which was a borough constituency until abolition as a 'rotten borough' in 1832), Lydd, Dymchurch, Lyminge and Elham contain significant farming communities, commuters to towns and business parks, including a small percentage to London and a large retired population.
The Liberal Democrats or the Liberal Party have come second since February 1974, the Labour vote underwent a greater collapse here than on average at the 1983 general election and in 2010 broke through the 10% figure, about one third of the Lib Dem vote. Through its history of just over half a century the constituency has been a Conservative safe seat.
Members of Parliament
The current Member of Parliament for the constituency is Damian Collins of the Conservative Party who was elected at the 2010 general election. Collins's predecessor for the seat was Michael Howard (served 1983—2010). Howard held a number of political posts during his career in Parliament, most prominently as Home Secretary from 1993 to 1997 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005.
Elections in the 2010s
Since the 2010 election there have been opinion polls conducted within the constituency, ahead of the next election.