County Kent Created 1997 European Parliament constituency South East England Number of members 1 | Electorate 74,796 (December 2010) Created from Faversham Member of parliament Gordon Henderson Replaced by Faversham | |
 | ||
Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK parliament since 2010 by Gordon Henderson, a Conservative.
Contents
Boundaries
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, and Woodstock.
2010-present: 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, 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. (On Sheppey is Queenborough which was a borough constituency until abolition as a rotten borough in 1832.)
Constituency profile
The constituency has been a bellwether of the national result since its 1997 creation. Unemployment claimant levels in November 2012 were close to the national average (3.8%) at 4.5%, in line with Cleethorpes, Thurrock, Hammersmith and Meriden.