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Political History
Political History
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The Parliamentary Constituency of Dartford The Parliamentary constituency of Dartford was originally formed in 1885, following the break-up of what was know as the Mid-Kent constituency, which was represented by two members, into a number of single member Parliamentary seats. This would not be the first time that the constituency would be altered. In 1945, the seat was effectively split in half, with one half remaining as the Dartford constituency, and the other becoming part of Bexley. Further changes the shape of the constituency are also planned. At the next General Election, those people living in South Darenth and Horton Kirby will fall under the constituency of Sevenoaks, whilst the Dartford constituency will extend further to encompass parts of Hodsoll Street. The first MP to represent the new constituency was the Conservative, Sir William Hart Dyke. Sir William, first elected in 1868 as MP for Mid-Kent, would go on to represent the area for some 38 years until 1906. As the traditional challenge of the Liberal Party began to fade and be replaced by that of the relatively new Labour Party, so Dartford began to develop a reputation as one of the UK’s key marginal seats, forever changing hands between the two most powerful forces of 20th Century British politics. In fact Dartford can be considered a true ‘bell weather’ seat, as it has backed an MP from the winning party at every election since 1964. During its history, the constituency if Dartford has played a role in the careers of a number of important figures from the British politics. Indeed two of the Britain’s most recent Prime Ministers tried their luck in the constituency. In 1951, a Margaret Roberts, representing the Conservative Party, was defeated by Labour MP, Norman Dodds. Miss Roberts, whose name later changed to Thatcher, would recover from this early setback and go on to become one of the most significant figures in modern British politics. Indeed it was under the Government of Mrs Thatcher, that another aspiring leader would try his hand in Dartford. At the 1983 General Election, the incumbent Member, Bob Dunn, who would remain MP until 1997, was challenged by the Labour candidate David Townsend. Mr Townsend had one the opportunity to stand having beaten off the challenge of fellow Labour hopeful, London based lawyer Anthony Blair. In similar manner to Margaret Thatcher, Blair would go on to recover from this initial setback and lead the Labour Party to electoral success in the 1997 General Election. However it is not just party leaders who have tried their luck in Dartford. Perhaps the area’s most famous politician is Sir Sidney Irving, who was first elected in 1955, and would be a Dartford MP for a combined total of 21 years between 1955 and 1979. Sir Sidney would hold the office of Deputy Chief Whip under the Government of Wilson and would also become Deputy Speaker of the Commons. Another long serving local MP was Bob Dunne, who was elected in 1979 as part of Mrs Thatcher’s rise to office. Dunne would go onto represent the constituency until 1997 when Dr Stoate was elected following an unsuccessful attempt in 1992.
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© 2008 Dr Howard Stoate - Member of Parliament for Dartford
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