Folkestone & Hythe
Apr 1, 2020 19:55:17 GMT
andrewp, Delighted Of Tunbridge Wells, and 1 more like this
Post by yellowperil on Apr 1, 2020 19:55:17 GMT
Folkestone & Hythe constituency has existed since 1950, and comprises as well as, obviously, the contiguous coastal towns of Folkestone and Hythe, two predominantly rural but very different areas. One is Romney Marsh, which self describes as the fifth continent, so you may gather is sturdily independent in its outlook. The Marsh area includes two small market towns , New Romney and Lydd, but the rest is very rural and of course very flat. The other rural area is the predominantly hilly area behind Folkestone and Hythe. Most of that is high up on the North Downs, but it will also include the busy communication corridor at the foot of the Downs, carrying both railways( the old main line heading for Dover and the high speed line), the M20,and the A20. The Channel Tunnel terminal is in this zone. To the south of that traffic corridor, but still part of this same zone , is the greensand ridge forming an inland "cliff" overlooking the Marsh( part of that Saxon Shore, of course).
In 1950 the local government set up within the new constituency reflected this geography pretty well. Folkestone and Hythe were separate boroughs, as were Lydd and New Romney. The deeply rural bit of the Marsh had its own RDC. The hilly back area was another RDC, Elham. Then in 1983 all of this was lumped into a new district coterminous with the parliamentary constituency, but for various reasons the decision was made not to call this new district council Folkestone and Hythe (the pitchforks might have come out on the Marsh at that stage) but instead to call it Shepway. This referred to a famous hill above the Marsh, which allegedly was well known from nursery rhyme, being associated with a certain Jack and Jill. We continued with this strange dichotomy of Shepway/ Folkestone and Hythe until quite recently- the district only changed from Shepway to F&H in 2018. In the 70 years of Folkestone and Hythe constituency there has always been a Conservative MP, and usually with a stonking majority. Of the 20 general elections fought, here 11 produced a Conservative majority in excess of 10,000, and the nearest to defeat they have ever come was in 2001 when Peter Carroll for the Lib Dems managed to reduce Michael Howard's majority down to 5907. There have only ever been 4 MPs- Harry Mackeson (1950/9), Sir Albert Costain (1959/83), Howard from 1983 to 2010, and the Damian Collins since.
From 2010 onwards the Ashford 2-member ward of Saxon Shore (and now the two single member wards of Saxon Shore and Bircholt) has been part of the Folkestone and Hythe constituency, which probably strengthens the Conservative hold on F&H constituency still further. Given how strong the parliamentary Conservative vote has always been, it is something of a surprise that early in this century the Liberal Democrats were really domininant at the local level. In 2003, for instance, they had 49.1% of the vote in the local elections and 29 out of 46 seats on the council. They led on 7 out of 9 of the Folkestone wards, all 3 wards in Hythe, and even 3 wards in the more rural parts of the district where they clearly were a lot weaker, so the Conservatives were reduced to a couple of Folkestone wards, most of Romney Marsh including Lydd and New Romney and most of the northern rural area- 40.1% of the vote and 19 seats. Since then the Lib Dem collapse has been almost total - by the time the slimmed down council was elected in 2015 there were 22 Conservatives,7 UKIP, and 1 Labour, and the Lib Dems had gone completely. The current council divides as 13 Conservatives, 6 Green, 5 Labour, 2 Lib Dems, 2 UKIP and 2 Independents.Generally speaking , inspite of all the dramatic changes, the overall picture has always been that the Conservatives have always been dominant in the more rural parts of the ward, i.e. Romney Marshand the old Elham rural district, together with the more affluent bits of Folkestone, while otherwise the towns of Folkestone and Hythe have been pretty volatile, and capable of swinging left or right, a not unknown phenomenon among a lot of southcoast seaside resorts/fishing ports. One interesting feature of Hythe is that at local level at least it has now swung strongly Green.
In 1950 the local government set up within the new constituency reflected this geography pretty well. Folkestone and Hythe were separate boroughs, as were Lydd and New Romney. The deeply rural bit of the Marsh had its own RDC. The hilly back area was another RDC, Elham. Then in 1983 all of this was lumped into a new district coterminous with the parliamentary constituency, but for various reasons the decision was made not to call this new district council Folkestone and Hythe (the pitchforks might have come out on the Marsh at that stage) but instead to call it Shepway. This referred to a famous hill above the Marsh, which allegedly was well known from nursery rhyme, being associated with a certain Jack and Jill. We continued with this strange dichotomy of Shepway/ Folkestone and Hythe until quite recently- the district only changed from Shepway to F&H in 2018. In the 70 years of Folkestone and Hythe constituency there has always been a Conservative MP, and usually with a stonking majority. Of the 20 general elections fought, here 11 produced a Conservative majority in excess of 10,000, and the nearest to defeat they have ever come was in 2001 when Peter Carroll for the Lib Dems managed to reduce Michael Howard's majority down to 5907. There have only ever been 4 MPs- Harry Mackeson (1950/9), Sir Albert Costain (1959/83), Howard from 1983 to 2010, and the Damian Collins since.
From 2010 onwards the Ashford 2-member ward of Saxon Shore (and now the two single member wards of Saxon Shore and Bircholt) has been part of the Folkestone and Hythe constituency, which probably strengthens the Conservative hold on F&H constituency still further. Given how strong the parliamentary Conservative vote has always been, it is something of a surprise that early in this century the Liberal Democrats were really domininant at the local level. In 2003, for instance, they had 49.1% of the vote in the local elections and 29 out of 46 seats on the council. They led on 7 out of 9 of the Folkestone wards, all 3 wards in Hythe, and even 3 wards in the more rural parts of the district where they clearly were a lot weaker, so the Conservatives were reduced to a couple of Folkestone wards, most of Romney Marsh including Lydd and New Romney and most of the northern rural area- 40.1% of the vote and 19 seats. Since then the Lib Dem collapse has been almost total - by the time the slimmed down council was elected in 2015 there were 22 Conservatives,7 UKIP, and 1 Labour, and the Lib Dems had gone completely. The current council divides as 13 Conservatives, 6 Green, 5 Labour, 2 Lib Dems, 2 UKIP and 2 Independents.Generally speaking , inspite of all the dramatic changes, the overall picture has always been that the Conservatives have always been dominant in the more rural parts of the ward, i.e. Romney Marshand the old Elham rural district, together with the more affluent bits of Folkestone, while otherwise the towns of Folkestone and Hythe have been pretty volatile, and capable of swinging left or right, a not unknown phenomenon among a lot of southcoast seaside resorts/fishing ports. One interesting feature of Hythe is that at local level at least it has now swung strongly Green.
