Tonbridge is a parliamentary constituency in Kent, centred on the town of Tonbridge. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Conservative Thomas Tugendhat, who was MP for the predecessor seat of Tonbridge and Malling from 2015 to 2024.
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, replacing the previous Tunbridge constituency. It was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when it was replaced by the new Tonbridge and Malling constituency.
Following the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was re-established and was first contested in the 2024 general election, formed primarily from the previous and largely overlapping constituency of Tonbridge and Malling.
Contents
Constituency profile
Tonbridge is a constituency in Kent in South East England, covering parts of the Tonbridge and Malling and Sevenoaks districts. It is named after its largest town, Tonbridge, which has a population of around 37,000. Other settlements include the town of Edenbridge and the villages of Hildenborough, Hadlow, Borough Green, New Ash Green and Hartley.
This constituency covers a mostly rural area centred on Tonbridge and includes the villages to its north and west. Much of the constituency consists of woodlands and rolling hills; the Kent Downs and High Weald National Landscapes pass through here. Tonbridge is a historic market town with a tradition of rural industries like woodworking. It also serves as an important railway junction linking Hastings and Ashford to London, which is located around 28 miles (45 km) north-west of Tonbridge. This constituency is mostly wealthy, with Tonbridge town in particular being highly affluent. House prices are generally higher than the rest of South East England and considerably higher than the UK average.
Tonbridge has an above-average retired population and a low proportion of young adults. Residents have high levels of income and homeownership and the child poverty rate is around half the UK-wide rate. They have average levels of education and a high proportion work in the retail, education and construction sectors. The percentage of residents claiming unemployment benefits is low. White people made up 93% of the population at the 2021 census.
At the local council level, Tonbridge is mostly represented by Green Party councillors whilst Edenbridge and the rural villages elected primarily Conservatives with some Liberal Democrat, Green Party and Reform UK representation. An estimated 54% of voters in the Tonbridge constituency supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, marginally higher than the UK-wide figure of 52%.
Boundaries
Historic
1918–1950: The Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells, the Urban Districts of Tonbridge and Southborough, and Tonbridge Rural District.
1950–1974: As 1918 but with redrawn boundaries.
Current
The re-established constituency id defined as being composed of the following as they existed on 1 December 2020:
The District of Sevenoaks wards of: Ash and New Ash Green; Cowden and Hever; Edenbridge North and East; Edenbridge South and West; Hartley and Hodsoll Street; Leigh and Chiddingstone Causeway; Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone.
The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling wards of: Borough Green and Long Mill; Cage Green; Castle; Downs and Mereworth; Hadlow and East Peckham; Higham; Hildenborough; Judd; Medway; Trench; Vauxhall; Wateringbury; Wrotham, Ightham and Stansted.
Following a local government boundary review in Tonbridge and Malling which came into effect in May 2023, the constituency is now composed of the following from the 2024 general election:
The District of Sevenoaks wards of: Ash and New Ash Green; Cowden and Hever; Edenbridge North and East; Edenbridge South and West; Hartley and Hodsoll Street; Leigh and Chiddingstone Causeway; Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone.
The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling wards of: Birling, Leybourne & Ryarsh (part); Borough Green & Platt; Bourne; Cage Green & Angel; East and West Peckham, Mereworth & Wateringbury; East Malling, West Malling & Offham (small part); Higham; Hildenborough; Judd; Pilgrims with Ightham; Trench; Vauxhall.
The reformed constituency comprises the bulk of the preceding Tonbridge and Malling seat (excluding East and West Malling), plus an additional two District of Sevenoaks wards to the north - Ash and New Ash Green, and Hartley and Hodsoll Street, from the constituencies of Sevenoaks and Dartford respectively.
Members of Parliament
MPs 1918–1974
Tunbridge prior to 1918
MPs since 2024
Tonbridge and Malling prior to 2024
Elections
Election results 1918–1974
Elections in the 1930s
General Election 1939–40:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;
Conservative: Adrian Baillie
Labour: R. E. L. Bowyer
Liberal: Richard Matthews
British Union: E J Crawford