BBC Profile:
The constituency's MP from 1974 to 1997 was former cabinet minister Sir Patrick Mayhew, who was Northern Ireland Secretary in John Major's government. In the last four elections which he contested his share of the vote never fell below 56% and his majority always exceeded 15,000.
He was replaced on his retirement as the Conservative candidate by Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda. At the 1997 general election, following boundary changes, the Conservative majority slipped to just 7,506 but increased to 9,730 in 2001.
When the baton was passed to Greg Clark in 2005 after Norman stood down, the electorate gave him a slightly increased majority of 9,988.
At the election the seat gains Hawkhurst and Sandhurst from Maidstone and the Weald. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.
The town of Tunbridge Wells was founded in 1606 and became a popular spa resort throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Apart from the outlying communities of Sherwood, Southborough and Pembury, the town is surrounded by an agricultural hinterland and the unspoilt beauty of the Weald with its many attractive villages centred on the small town of Paddock Wood.
Royal Tunbridge Wells attracts tourists to its architecturally and historically important buildings and its shops, especially in the historic Georgian colonnade known as the Pantiles. Outside the town it
[More...]BBC Profile:
The constituency's MP from 1974 to 1997 was former cabinet minister Sir Patrick Mayhew, who was Northern Ireland Secretary in John Major's government. In the last four elections which he contested his share of the vote never fell below 56% and his majority always exceeded 15,000.
He was replaced on his retirement as the Conservative candidate by Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda. At the 1997 general election, following boundary changes, the Conservative majority slipped to just 7,506 but increased to 9,730 in 2001.
When the baton was passed to Greg Clark in 2005 after Norman stood down, the electorate gave him a slightly increased majority of 9,988.
At the election the seat gains Hawkhurst and Sandhurst from Maidstone and the Weald. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.
The town of Tunbridge Wells was founded in 1606 and became a popular spa resort throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Apart from the outlying communities of Sherwood, Southborough and Pembury, the town is surrounded by an agricultural hinterland and the unspoilt beauty of the Weald with its many attractive villages centred on the small town of Paddock Wood.
Royal Tunbridge Wells attracts tourists to its architecturally and historically important buildings and its shops, especially in the historic Georgian colonnade known as the Pantiles. Outside the town itself the countryside is predominantly apple and hop country.
The proportion of the workforce in professional, managerial or technical jobs, and several thousand commute into London or the surrounding towns to work. Significant local employers include the PPP private healthcare company.
Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
C 23,099 (50.67%)
LD 11,527 (25.29%)
Lab 9,309 (20.42%)
UKIP 1,653 (3.63%)
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