EveryElectionResult.com

Election results, country by country.

Dover — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Dover was won by Conservative at the 2019 general election, with a majority of 12,278 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Dover from 1832 to 2019.

This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.

Full Election History, 1832–2019

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1832 Charles Poulett Thomson (Whig); John Rae Reid (Conservative) 644 30.0% (top seat) John Halcomb (Conservative) 121 (5.1 pts) 72.0%
1835 John Minet Fector (Conservative); John Rae Reid (Conservative) 782 37.0% (top seat) Edward Royd Rice (Whig) 21 (0.9 pts) 78.4%
1837 Edward Royd Rice (Whig); John Rae Reid (Conservative) 829 35.2% (top seat) John Minet Fector (Conservative) 87 (3.6 pts) 72.3%
1841 John Rae Reid (Conservative); Edward Royd Rice (Whig) 960 36.0% (top seat) John Halcomb (Conservative) 424 (15.3 pts) 67.4%
1847 Edward Royd Rice (Whig); George Clerk (Conservative) 932 37.6% (top seat) Henry Thoby Prinsep (Conservative) 35 (1.2 pts) 71.2%
1852 Henry Charles Cadogan (Conservative); Edward Royd Rice (Whig) 898 39.5% (top seat) George Clerk (Conservative) 117 (4.2 pts) 67.2%
1857 Ralph Bernal Osborne (Radical); William Russell (Whig) 958 30.8% (top seat) George Clerk (Conservative) 263 (8.2 pts) 79.4%
1859 Henry John Leeke (Conservative); William Nicol (Conservative) 902 27.6% (top seat) William Russell (Liberal) 114 (3.4 pts) 82.8%
1865 Alexander George Dickson (Conservative); Charles Kaye Freshfield (Conservative) 1,012 26.8% (top seat) William Coutts Keppel (Liberal) 109 (2.8 pts) 82.7%
1868 Alexander George Dickson (Conservative); George Jessel (Liberal) 1,435 33.8% (top seat) Charles Kaye Freshfield (Conservative) 48 (1.1 pts) 63.6%
1874 Charles Kaye Freshfield (Conservative); Alexander George Dickson (Conservative) 1,316 31.3% (top seat) Christopher Weguelin (Liberal) 198 (3.9 pts) 68.5%
1880 Charles Kaye Freshfield (Conservative); Alexander George Dickson (Conservative) 1,701 26.5% (top seat) Philip James Stanhope (Liberal) 94 (1.4 pts) 77.2%
1885 Alexander George Dickson (Conservative) 2,066 59.3% Robert Murray Lawes (Liberal) 648 (18.6 pts) 71.3%
1886 Alexander George Dickson (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1892 George Wyndham (Conservative) 2,231 69.5% Eustace Edwards (Liberal-Labour) 1,253 (39.1 pts) 62.2%
1895 George Wyndham (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1900 George Wyndham (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 George Wyndham (Conservative) 3,269 65.7% Reuben John Bryce (Liberal) 1,564 (31.4 pts) 76.6%
Jan 1910 George Wyndham (Conservative) 3,330 67.9% Augustus Montague Bradley (Liberal) 1,758 (35.9 pts) 78.5%
Dec 1910 George Wyndham (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1918 Vere Brabazon Ponsonby (Unionist) 11,249 68.7% Alexander McKenzie Livingstone (Liberal) 6,128 (37.4 pts) 46.5%
1922 John Jacob Astor (Unionist) 18,151 62.2% Thomas Andrew Polson (Independent Parliamentary Group) 10,097 (34.6 pts) 77.6%
1923 John Jacob Astor (Unionist) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1924 John Jacob Astor (Unionist) 21,186 73.5% Allan Francis George (Labour) 13,559 (47.1 pts) 74.7%
1929 John Jacob Astor (Unionist) 20,572 54.7% Ernest Lionel McKeag (Labour) 11,708 (31.1 pts) 74.4%
1931 John Jacob Astor (Conservative) 29,743 75.3% William Moore (Labour) 19,962 (50.5 pts) 73.0%
1935 John Jacob Astor (Conservative) 25,884 64.0% William Henry Bennett (Labour) 11,296 (27.9 pts) 69.6%
1945 John Richard Thomas (Labour) 17,373 52.5% John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 1,682 (5.1 pts) 73.0%
1950 John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 25,640 49.0% William James Owen (Labour) 2,309 (4.4 pts) 85.8%
1951 John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 28,511 53.3% William James Owen (Labour) 3,516 (6.6 pts) 85.7%
1955 John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 27,316 52.9% Horace W Lee (Labour) 3,018 (5.9 pts) 81.8%
1959 John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 27,939 53.1% Horace W Lee (Labour) 3,241 (6.2 pts) 82.9%
1964 David Hedley Ennals (Labour) 24,115 44.9% Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot (Conservative) 418 (0.8 pts) 82.7%
1966 David Ennals (Labour) 27,256 49.3% Thomas Stacey (Conservative) 3,216 (5.8 pts) 84.2%
1970 Peter Rees (Conservative) 30,103 51.4% David Ennals (Labour) 1,649 (2.8 pts) 80.7%
1983 Peter Rees (Conservative) 25,454 48.3% Stephen Love (Labour) 9,220 (17.5 pts) 77.6%
1987 David Shaw (Conservative) 25,343 46.0% Stephen Love (Labour) 6,541 (11.9 pts) 79.8%
1992 David Shaw (Conservative) 25,395 44.1% Gwyn Prosser (Labour) 833 (1.5 pts) 83.5%
1997 Gwyn Prosser (Labour) 29,535 54.5% David Shaw (Conservative) 11,739 (21.7 pts) 78.9%
2001 Gwyn Prosser (Labour) 21,943 48.8% Paul Watkins (Conservative) 5,199 (11.6 pts) 65.1%
2005 Gwyn Prosser (Labour) 21,680 45.3% Paul Watkins (Conservative) 4,941 (10.3 pts) 67.6%
2010 Charlie Elphicke (Conservative) 22,174 44.0% Gwyn Prosser (Labour) 5,274 (10.5 pts) 70.3%
2015 Charlie Elphicke (Conservative) 21,737 43.3% Clair Hawkins (Labour) 6,294 (12.5 pts) 69.1%
2017 Charlie Elphicke (Conservative) 27,211 52.4% Stacey Blair (Labour) 6,437 (12.4 pts) 69.8%
2019 Natalie Elphicke (Conservative) 28,830 56.9% Charlotte Cornell (Labour) 12,278 (24.2 pts) 66.7%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1832 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Poulett Thomson Whig 71330.0% Yes
John Rae Reid Conservative 64427.1% Yes
John Halcomb Conservative 52322.0% No
Robert Henry Stanhope Whig 49820.9% No

1835 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Minet Fector Conservative 90837.0% Yes
John Rae Reid Conservative 78231.9% Yes
Edward Royd Rice Whig 76131.0% No

1837 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Royd Rice Whig 85435.2% Yes
John Rae Reid Conservative 82934.2% Yes
John Minet Fector Conservative 74230.6% No

1841 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Rae Reid Conservative 1,00036.0% Yes
Edward Royd Rice Whig 96034.6% Yes
John Halcomb Conservative 53619.3% No
Alexander Galloway Radical 28110.1% No

1847 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Royd Rice Whig 1,10437.6% Yes
George Clerk Conservative 93231.8% Yes
Henry Thoby Prinsep Conservative 89730.6% No

1852 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Charles Cadogan Conservative 1,09739.5% Yes
Edward Royd Rice Whig 89832.3% Yes
George Clerk Conservative 78128.1% No

1857 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Ralph Bernal Osborne Radical 98930.8% Yes
William Russell Whig 95829.8% Yes
George Clerk Conservative 69521.6% No
George William Hope Conservative 57417.8% No

1859 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry John Leeke Conservative 93127.6% Yes
William Nicol Conservative 90226.7% Yes
William Russell Liberal 78823.4% No
Ralph Bernal Osborne Liberal 75222.3% No

1865 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander George Dickson Conservative 1,02626.8% Yes
Charles Kaye Freshfield Conservative 1,01226.4% Yes
William Coutts Keppel Liberal 90323.6% No
Thomas Eustace Smith Liberal 89223.3% No

1868 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander George Dickson Conservative 1,46133.8% Yes
George Jessel Liberal 1,43533.2% Yes
Charles Kaye Freshfield Conservative 1,38732.1% No
Israel Abrahams Liberal 350.8% No

1874 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Kaye Freshfield Conservative 1,59531.3% Yes
Alexander George Dickson Conservative 1,31625.8% Yes
Christopher Weguelin Liberal 1,11822.0% No
Frederick Andrew Inderwick Liberal 1,06220.9% No

1880 (2 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Kaye Freshfield Conservative 1,73426.5% Yes
Alexander George Dickson Conservative 1,70126.0% Yes
Philip James Stanhope Liberal 1,60724.5% No
Charles Clement Walker Liberal 1,50623.0% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander George Dickson Conservative 2,06659.3% Yes
Robert Murray Lawes Liberal 1,41840.7% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander George Dickson Conservative Unopposed Yes

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative 2,23169.5% Yes
Eustace Edwards Liberal-Labour 97830.5% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative Unopposed Yes

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative 3,26965.7% Yes
Reuben John Bryce Liberal 1,70534.3% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative 3,33067.9% Yes
Augustus Montague Bradley Liberal 1,57232.1% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Wyndham Conservative Unopposed Yes

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Vere Brabazon Ponsonby Unionist 11,24968.7% Yes
Alexander McKenzie Livingstone Liberal 5,12131.3% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Unionist 18,15162.2% Yes
Thomas Andrew Polson Independent Parliamentary Group 8,05427.6% No
Leonard Jacques Stein Liberal 2,98510.2% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Unionist Unopposed Yes

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Unionist 21,18673.5% Yes
Allan Francis George Labour 7,62726.5% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Unionist 20,57254.7% Yes
Ernest Lionel McKeag Labour 8,86423.6% No
Herbert James Baxter Liberal 8,18021.7% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Conservative 29,74375.3% Yes
William Moore Labour 9,78124.7% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Jacob Astor Conservative 25,88464.0% Yes
William Henry Bennett Labour 14,58836.0% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Richard Thomas Labour 17,37352.5% Yes
John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 15,69147.5% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 25,64049.0% Yes
William James Owen Labour 23,33144.6% No
Basil Goldstone Liberal 2,8735.5% No
Robert Tennant Morrison Communist 4740.9% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 28,51153.3% Yes
William James Owen Labour 24,99546.7% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 27,31652.9% Yes
Horace W Lee Labour 24,29847.1% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 27,93953.1% Yes
Horace W Lee Labour 24,69846.9% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Hedley Ennals Labour 24,11544.9% Yes
Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot Conservative 23,69744.2% No
Bernard Wilfred Budd Liberal 5,84310.9% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Ennals Labour 27,25649.3% Yes
Thomas Stacey Conservative 24,04043.5% No
Bernard Budd Liberal 3,9817.2% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Rees Conservative 30,10351.4% Yes
David Ennals Labour 28,45448.6% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Rees Conservative 25,45448.3% Yes
Stephen Love Labour 16,23430.8% No
Geoffrey Nice Social Democratic Party 10,60120.1% No
Michael James Potter Green 4040.8% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Shaw Conservative 25,34346.0% Yes
Stephen Love Labour 18,80234.1% No
Geoffrey Nice Social Democratic Party 10,94219.9% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Shaw Conservative 25,39544.1% Yes
Gwyn Prosser Labour 24,56242.6% No
Michael John Sole Liberal Democrat 6,21210.8% No
Adrian Charles William Sullivan Green 6371.1% No
Peter William Sherred Independent Conservative 4070.7% No
Brian John Philp Independent Conservative 2500.4% No
Colin Frederick Percy Natural Law 1270.2% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gwyn Prosser Labour 29,53554.5% Yes
David Shaw Conservative 17,79632.8% No
Mark Corney Liberal Democrat 4,3027.9% No
Susan Anderson Referendum Party 2,1243.9% No
Clive Desmond Hyde UKIP 4430.8% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gwyn Prosser Labour 21,94348.8% Yes
Paul Watkins Conservative 16,74437.2% No
Antony Hook Liberal Democrat 5,13111.4% No
Lee Speakman UKIP 1,1422.5% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gwyn Prosser Labour 21,68045.3% Yes
Paul Watkins Conservative 16,73935.0% No
Antony Hook Liberal Democrat 7,60715.9% No
Mike Wiltshire UKIP 1,2522.6% No
Victor Matcham Independent 6061.3% No

2010

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charlie Elphicke Conservative 22,17444.0% Yes
Gwyn Prosser Labour 16,90033.5% No
John Brigden Liberal Democrat 7,96215.8% No
Victor Matcham UKIP 1,7473.5% No
Dennis Whiting BNP 1,1042.2% No
Mike Walters English Democrats 2160.4% No
David Clark Christian Peoples Alliance 2000.4% No
George Lee-Delisle Independent 820.2% No

2015

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charlie Elphicke Conservative 21,73743.3% Yes
Clair Hawkins Labour 15,44330.7% No
David Little UKIP 10,17720.3% No
Sarah Smith Liberal Democrat 1,5723.1% No
Jolyon Trimingham Green 1,2952.6% No

2017

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charlie Elphicke Conservative 27,21152.4% Yes
Stacey Blair Labour 20,77440.0% No
Piers Wauchope UKIP 1,7223.3% No
Simon Dodd Liberal Democrat 1,3362.6% No
Beccy Sawbridge Green 9231.8% No

2019

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Natalie Elphicke Conservative 28,83056.9% Yes
Charlotte Cornell Labour 16,55232.6% No
Simon Dodd Liberal Democrat 2,8955.7% No
Beccy Sawbridge Green 1,3712.7% No
Nathan Sutton Independent 9161.8% No
Eljai Morais Women's Equality Party 1370.3% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1832: Whig margin 5.1 pts 1835: Conservative margin 0.9 pts 1837: Whig margin 3.6 pts 1841: Conservative margin 15.3 pts 1847: Whig margin 1.2 pts 1852: Conservative margin 4.2 pts 1857: Radical margin 8.2 pts 1859: Conservative margin 3.4 pts 1865: Conservative margin 2.8 pts 1868: Conservative margin 1.1 pts 1874: Conservative margin 3.9 pts 1880: Conservative margin 1.4 pts 1885: Conservative margin 18.6 pts 1892: Conservative margin 39.1 pts 1906: Conservative margin 31.4 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 35.9 pts 1918: Unionist margin 37.4 pts 1922: Unionist margin 34.6 pts 1924: Unionist margin 47.1 pts 1929: Unionist margin 31.1 pts 1931: Conservative margin 50.5 pts 1935: Conservative margin 27.9 pts 1945: Labour margin 5.1 pts 1950: Conservative margin 4.4 pts 1951: Conservative margin 6.6 pts 1955: Conservative margin 5.9 pts 1959: Conservative margin 6.2 pts 1964: Labour margin 0.8 pts 1966: Labour margin 5.8 pts 1970: Conservative margin 2.8 pts 1983: Conservative margin 17.5 pts 1987: Conservative margin 11.9 pts 1992: Conservative margin 1.5 pts 1997: Labour margin 21.7 pts 2001: Labour margin 11.6 pts 2005: Labour margin 10.3 pts 2010: Conservative margin 10.5 pts 2015: Conservative margin 12.5 pts 2017: Conservative margin 12.4 pts 2019: Conservative margin 24.2 pts 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1892 1906 Jan 1910 1918 1922 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019

Trend

Dover has been contested at 45 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Radical, Liberal, Unionist, Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Dover in the 2019 general election?

Conservative won Dover in 2019 with 28,830 votes (56.9%), a majority of 12,278 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Dover since 1832?

Since 1832, Dover has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Radical, Unionist, Whig.

What was the closest result in Dover?

The closest result on record for Dover was 1964, when Labour beat Conservative by just 418 votes (0.8 percentage points).

Did Dover ever elect more than one MP at a time?

Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Dover elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.

Related Pages