| East Thanet | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for theHouse of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries from 2024 | |
 Boundary of East Thanet in South East England | |
| County | Kent |
| Electorate | 73,790 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2024 |
| Member of Parliament | Polly Billington (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | |
| February 1974–1983[a] | |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Isle of Thanet |
| Replaced by | South Thanet[2] |
East Thanet is a Britishparliamentary constituency in theIsle of Thanet inKent, represented since 2024 byPolly Billington of theLabour Party. The seat previously existed under the nameThanet East, from 1974 to 1983, returning oneMember of Parliament (MP) to theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom. Further to the completion of the2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was re-established as East Thanet for the2024 general election. It is primarily the successor to the formerSouth Thanet parliamentary constituency.[3][4]
The East Thanet constituency is located at the easternmost point ofKent, occupying theIsle of Thanet peninsula. It contains the connected towns ofMargate,Broadstairs andRamsgate. The three towns are popularseaside resorts with large tourism sectors, although like many English coastal towns, they experienced economic decline during the late 20th century. High levels of deprivation are present,[5] particularly in Margate and Ramsgate where many areas fall within the top 10% most-deprived areas inEngland. Broadstairs is comparatively wealthier.[6] Average house prices in the constituency are lower than the national average.[5]
Compared to the rest of the country, residents are generally older and have low levels of education. Household income is low and residents are less likely to work in professional occupations.White people made up 92% of the population at the2021 census.[5] Atthe local district council, Ramsgate and Margate are mostly represented by theLabour Party whilst moreConservative councillors were elected in Broadstairs. Atthe county council, which held elections more recently, all wards in East Thanet electedReform UK councillors. Voters in East Thanet strongly supported leaving theEuropean Union in the2016 referendum; an estimated 64% voted in favour ofBrexit compared to 52% nationwide.[5]
The Borough of Ramsgate, and the Urban District of Broadstairs and St Peter's.
Following the2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the2024 general election, the constituency is composed of the District of Thanet wards of Beacon Road, Bradstowe, Central Harbour, Cliffsend & Pegwell, Cliftonville East, Cliftonville West, Dane Valley, Eastcliff, Kingsgate, Margate Central, Nethercourt, Newington, Northwood, St Peters, Salmestone, Sir Moses Montefiore, and Viking.[7]
It comprises those parts of the former constituency ofSouth Thanet in theDistrict of Thanet (85.6% of the electorate), together with three wards fromNorth Thanet, including CentralMargate.[4]
The constituency was created for theFebruary 1974 general election, when the former constituency ofIsle of Thanet was split in two, and returned oneMember of Parliament (MP) to theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom. It was abolished for the1983 general election, when Thanet East and the neighbouringThanet West constituency were replaced by newNorth Thanet andSouth Thanet constituencies.
The constituency name was revived at the2024 general election, where it effectively replaced the South Thanet constituency, with 81.8% of the electorate of the former South Thanet seat becoming part of the new East Thanet, and 85.6% of the new East Thanet seat having previously belonged to the former South Thanet.[4]
Isle of Thanet prior to 1974
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Jonathan Aitken | Conservative | |
| 1983 | constituency abolished | ||
South Thanet prior to 2024
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Polly Billington | Labour | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Polly Billington | 17,054 | 39.9 |  2.3 | |
| Conservative | Helen Harrison | 10,083 | 23.6 |  29.9 | |
| Reform | Paul Webb | 8,591 | 20.1 | New | |
| Green | Steve Roberts | 4,590 | 10.7 | 7.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jai Singh | 1,365 | 3.2 | 2.0 | |
| Independent | Grahame Birchall | 563 | 1.3 | New | |
| Independent | Paul Holton | 369 | 0.9 | New | |
| Independent | Mo Shafaei | 98 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 6,971 | 16.3 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 42,713 | 57.0 | 7.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 74,940 | ||||
| Labourgain fromConservative | Swing | 16.1 | |||
| 2019notional result[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 25,616 | 53.5 | |
| Labour | 18,031 | 37.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2,486 | 5.2 | |
| Green | 1,791 | 3.7 | |
| Turnout | 47,924 | 64.9 | |
| Electorate | 73,790 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 20,367 | 57.17 | +11.1 | |
| Labour | I Kilberry | 10,128 | 28.43 | −4.6 | |
| Liberal | B Hesketh | 4,755 | 13.35 | −5.6 | |
| National Front | B Dobing | 376 | 1.06 | −1.0 | |
| Majority | 10,239 | 28.74 | +15.6 | ||
| Turnout | 35,625 | 72.72 | +1.2 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 15,813 | 46.10 | −0.8 | |
| Labour | S Bartlett | 11,310 | 32.97 | +0.4 | |
| Liberal | C Hogarth | 6,472 | 18.87 | −4.6 | |
| National Front | K Munson | 708 | 2.06 | New | |
| Majority | 4,503 | 13.13 | −4.1 | ||
| Turnout | 34,302 | 71.55 | −9.0 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Jonathan Aitken | 17,944 | 46.86 | ||
| Labour | Robert Bean | 11,347 | 29.64 | ||
| Liberal | J Cox | 8,997 | 23.50 | ||
| Majority | 6,597 | 17.22 | |||
| Turnout | 38,289 | 80.53 | |||
| Conservativewin (new seat) | |||||