County Kent Created 1974 (1974) | Electorate 73,028 (December 2010) Number of members One | |
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Major settlements Tunbridge Wells and Paddock Wood Member of parliament Greg Clark (Conservative) | ||
Tunbridge Wells is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Greg Clark, a Conservative who has served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since 14 July 2016.
Contents
Boundaries
1974 to 1983: The Municipal Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells, the Urban District of Southborough, the Rural District of Cranbrook, and in the Rural District of Tonbridge the civil parishes of Bidborough, Brenchley, Capel, Horsmonden, Lamberhurst, Paddock Wood, Pembury, and Speldhurst.
1983 to 1997: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells.
1997 to 2010: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Brenchley, Capel, Culverdon, Goudhurst, Horsmonden, Lamberhurst, Paddock Wood, Pantiles, Park, Pembury, Rusthall, St James', St John's, St Mark's, Sherwood, Southborough East, Southborough North, Southborough West, and Speldhurst and Bidborough.
2010 to present: The Borough of Tunbridge Wells wards of Brenchley and Horsmonden, Broadwater, Capel, Culverden, Goudhurst and Lamberhurst, Hawkhurst and Sandhurst, Paddock Wood East, Paddock Wood West, Pantiles and St Mark’s, Park, Pembury, Rusthall, St James', St John's, Sherwood, Southborough and High Brooms, Southborough North, and Speldhurst and Bidborough.
The current constituency includes the large town of Tunbridge Wells, and most of its borough to the east which is generally rural.
History
The constituency was created in 1974, and was originally named "Royal Tunbridge Wells". Except for Cranbrook Rural District (previously part of the Ashford constituency) the area had formed part of the constituency of Tonbridge prior to 1974. In June 1983, the "Royal" prefix was removed from the seat's name.
The seat's results since its 1974 creation indicate a Conservative safe seat. In 1994, the Conservative group on the council lost control, but regained it in 1998.
In succession from 1983 until 1997 Patrick Mayhew reached three leading positions: Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland (simultaneously) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
From 2002 to 2005, Archie Norman was the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions. The present member, Greg Clark, was Minister for Decentralisation from the start of the Cameron ministry, and then two years later became Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Constituency profile
The area is still largely rural in character and landscape, enjoying a gently elevated position which is traversed by the High Weald Landscape Trail. The area has local service sector and financial sector employers, light engineering combined with being substantially a commuter belt town for London, and to an extent, businesses on the southern side of the M25, such as in the Gatwick Diamond.
Workless claimants, registered jobseekers, were in November 2012 significantly lower than the national average of 3.8%, at 1.7% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.