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UK Parliament - Dartford

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > South East > South East > Dartford

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

00, 0000 - 06:00pm

Polls Open

May 06, 2010 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 06, 2010 - 04:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2010 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2015 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Ralphie

Last Modified

Jason May 07, 2010 10:59pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

BBC Profile:
Dartford was created as a constituency in 1955 and since 1964 it has elected its MP from the governing party of the day.

Having been a Conservative seat during the Thatcher and Major years, the seat went Labour at the 1997 general election. The beneficiary was Dr Howard Stoate, a GP and former Dartford borough councillor, who won with a majority of 4,328. At the 2001 general election Dr Stoate won again, with a reduced majority of 3,306 and in 2005 he was returned with a 706-vote majority.

At the election, the seat gains the part-ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street from Sevenoaks, in exchange for two part-wards. 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.

Home to the Dartford Crossing and part of the M25, Dartford is just inside Kent, on the outskirts of south-east London. The constituency comprises of urban areas including Dartford itself, but also has rural parts.

The key to Dartford's current economic success is its location. The new Channel Tunnel rail-link passes through the constituency at the Ebbsfleet international station which opened in 2007. It is easily accessible by road, at Junction 1 of the M25 motorway, and the Dartford Tunnels carry northbound traffic under the Thames and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, opened in 1991, brings traffic moving southwards.

The constituency has a traditional industrial base in engineering and pharmaceuticals, and has been subject to a large amount of redevelopment over recent years. It is home to the Bluewater shopping centre and a large private finance initiative-funded hospital in the Darenth Valley in the south of the constituency.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
Lab 19,518 (43.05%)
C 18,658 (41.15%)
LD 4,581 (10.10%)
UKIP 1,361 (3.00%)
Others 1,224 (2.70%)