West Kent was a county constituency in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 in South East England

South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...

. It returned two Members of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

, elected by the first past the post system.

History

The constituency was created by the Reform Act 1832

Reform Act 1832

The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...

 for the 1832 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1832

-Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....

, and abolished by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

 for the 1885 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

.

All three two-member constituencies in Kent were abolished in 1885: East Kent, Mid Kent and West Kent. They were replaced by eight new single-member constituencies: Ashford

Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system.-Boundaries:...

, Dartford

Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Notes and references:...

, Faversham

Faversham (UK Parliament constituency)

Faversham was a parliamentary constituency centered on the town of Faversham in Kent which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, Isle of Thanet

Isle of Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)

Isle of Thanet was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885, until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election....

, Medway

Medway (UK Parliament constituency)

Medway was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1983 and 2010. A previous constituency of the same name existed from 1885 to 1918.-1885–1918:...

, St Augustine's

St Augustine's (UK Parliament constituency)

St Augustine's was a parliamentary constituency in Kent. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

, Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks (UK Parliament constituency)

Sevenoaks is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

 and Tunbridge

Tunbridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Tunbridge was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, centred on the town of Tonbridge. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

.

Members of Parliament

Election	|2nd Member	2nd Party
1832 United Kingdom general election, 1832 -Seats summary:-Parties and leaders at the general election:The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830. His was the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806-1807....		Thomas Law Hodges Thomas Law Hodges Thomas Law Hodges was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1830 and 1852....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...		Thomas Rider Thomas Rider (MP for Kent) Thomas Rider was a British Whig politician who held a seat in the House of Commons from 1831 to 1835.He was elected at the 1831 general election as a Member of Parliament for Kent, and held the seat until the constituency was divided under the Reform Act 1832...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
1835 United Kingdom general election, 1835 The 1835 United Kingdom general election was called when Parliament was dissolved on 29 December 1834. Polling took place between 6 January and 6 February 1835, and the results saw Robert Peel's Conservatives make large gains from their low of the 1832 election, but the Whigs maintained a large...					Sir William Geary, Bt Sir William Geary, 3rd Baronet Sir William Richard Powlett Geary, 3rd Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1838....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1838 by-election					Sir Edmund Filmer, Bt Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons at a by-election in March 1838 as a Member of Parliament for West Kent, having unsuccessfully contested the same constituency at the 1837 general election. He held the seat until...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1841 United Kingdom general election, 1841 -Seats summary:-Whig MPs who lost their seats:*Viscount Morpeth - Chief Secretary for Ireland*Sir George Strickland, Bt*Sir Henry Barron, 1st Baronet-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987...		Viscount Marsham Charles Marsham, 3rd Earl of Romney Charles Marsham, 3rd Earl of Romney , styled Viscount Marsham between 1811 and 1845, was a British peer and Conservative Party politician.-Background:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1845 by-election		Thomas Austen Thomas Austen Thomas Austen was a British politician. He was a Member of Parliament for West Kent from 1845 to 1847.-References:...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1847 United Kingdom general election, 1847 -Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...		Thomas Law Hodges Thomas Law Hodges Thomas Law Hodges was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1830 and 1852....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
1852 United Kingdom general election, 1852 The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...		William Masters Smith	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Feb 1857 by-election					Charles Wykeham Martin Charles Wykeham Martin Charles Wykeham-Martin DL was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1841 and 1870....	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Apr 1857 United Kingdom general election, 1857 -Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...		James Whatman James Whatman (politician) James Whatman was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1852 and 1874.Whatman was the son of James Whatman of Vinter's, near Maidstone and his wife Eliza Susanna Gaussen, daughter of Samuel Richard Gaussen of Brookman's Park, Hertfordshire...	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
1859 United Kingdom general election, 1859 In the 1859 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, held their majority in the House of Commons over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives...		Viscount Holmesdale	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...		Sir Edmund Filmer, Bt Sir Edmund Filmer, 9th Baronet Sir Edmund Filmer, 9th Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1859 general election as a Member of Parliament for West Kent...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1865 United Kingdom general election, 1865 The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...					William Hart Dyke	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1868 United Kingdom general election, 1868 The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...		Sir Charles Mills, Bt Charles Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon Charles Henry Mills, 1st Baron Hillingdon , known as Sir Charles Mills, 2nd Baronet, from 1872 to 1886, was a British banker and Conservative politician....	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...		John Gilbert Talbot John Gilbert Talbot John Gilbert Talbot PC , was a British Conservative Party politician.-Background:Talbot was the son of the Honourable John Chetwynd-Talbot, fourth son of Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1878 by-election					Viscount Lewisham William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth GCVO, KCB, PC, VD, TD, JP , styled Viscount Lewisham between 1853 and 1891, was a British peer and Conservative politician...	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	constituency abolished