East Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)

East Thanet is a British parliamentary constituency in the Isle of Thanet in Kent, represented since 2024 by Polly Billington of the Labour Party. The seat previously existed, under the name Thanet East, from 1974 to 1983, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was re-established as East Thanet for the 2024 general election. It is primarily the successor to the former South Thanet parliamentary constituency.^[3][4]

East Thanet
Borough constituency for the House 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	Margate Ramsgate Broadstairs
Current constituency
Created	2024
Member of Parliament	Polly Billington (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	South Thanet North Thanet
February 1974–1983[a]
Seats	One
Created from	Isle of Thanet
Replaced by	South Thanet[2]

Boundaries

1974–1983 (Thanet East)

The Borough of Ramsgate, and the Urban District of Broadstairs and St Peter's.

2024–present (East Thanet)

Following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 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.^[5]

It comprises those parts of the former constituency of South Thanet in the District of Thanet (85.6% of the electorate), together with three wards from North Thanet, including Central Margate.^[4]

Constituency profile

Electoral Calculus categorises the proposed seat as being part of the "Somewheres" demographic, indicating socially conservative, economically soft left views and strong support for Brexit.^[6] The High Speed 1 railway service has stimulated some regeneration of Margate and Ramsgate, with many residents moving to the towns from Greater London.^[7]

History

The constituency was created for the February 1974 general election, when the former constituency of Isle of Thanet was split in two, and returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when Thanet East and the neighbouring Thanet West constituency were replaced by new North Thanet and South Thanet constituencies.

The constituency name was revived at the 2024 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]

Members of Parliament

MPs 1974–1983

Isle of Thanet prior to 1974

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Jonathan Aitken	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished

MPs since 2024

South Thanet prior to 2024

Election		Member	Party
	2024	Polly Billington	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: East Thanet^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Polly Billington	17,054	39.9	+2.3
	Conservative	Helen Harrison	10,083	23.6	−29.9
	Reform UK	Paul Webb	8,591	20.1	N/A
	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	N/A
	Independent	Paul Holton	369	0.9	N/A
	Independent	Mo Shafaei	98	0.2	N/A
Majority			6,971	16.3	N/A
Turnout			42,713	57.0	−7.9
Registered electors			74,940
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	16.1

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional 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

Election results 1974–1983

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Thanet East

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
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Thanet East

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
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Thanet East

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
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

Notes

1. As Thanet East