Dartford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party. The constituency is currently the longest-valid 'bellwether' constituency in the country as the party of the winning candidate has gone on to form the government in every General Election since 1964. Candidates for the largest two parties nationally have polled first and second since 1923 in Dartford.
The area in the seat, remaining a combination of urban, suburban and a small rural population, has been gradually reduced through contribution to new seats, their county designation later being changed in 1965 to become part of the new county of Greater London, which adjoins. These seats are Bexley, created in 1945 and Erith & Crayford, created in 1955.
Members of Parliament[]
- 1885 Sir William Hart Dyke Conservative
- 1906 James Rowlands Liberal
- Jan 1910 William Foot Mitchell Conservative
- Dec 1910 James Rowlands Liberal/1918 Coalition Liberal
- 1920 by-election John Edmund Mills Labour
- 1922 George Jarrett Constitutionalist
- 1923 John Edmund Mills Labour
- 1924 Angus McDonnell Conservative
- 1929 John Edmund Mills Labour
- 1931 Frank Clarke Conservative
- 1938 by-election Jennie Adamson Labour
- 1945 constituency split, with half becoming the new Bexley seat
- 1945 Norman Dodds Labour and Co-operative
- 1955 Sydney Irving Labour Co-op
- 1970 Peter Trew Conservative
- Feb 1974 Sydney Irving Labour Co-op
- 1979 Bob Dunn Conservative
- 1997 Howard Stoate Labour
- 2010 Gareth Johnson Conservative
More information, including election results, on the Wikipedia page [1]