Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
East Kent elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: Aretas Akers-Douglas (Conservative) and Edward Leigh Pemberton (Conservative). This page covers every general election in East Kent from 1832 to 1880.
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, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
John Pemberton Plumptre (Whig); Edward Knatchbull (Conservative)
3,344
36.8% (top seat)
William Richard Cosway (Conservative)
717 (7.6 pts)
67.3%
1835
John Pemberton Plumptre (Conservative); Edward Knatchbull (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1837
Edward Knatchbull (Conservative); John Pemberton Plumptre (Conservative)
3,029
40.8% (top seat)
Thomas Rider (Whig)
824 (9.3 pts)
60.6%
1841
Edward Knatchbull (Conservative); John Pemberton Plumptre (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1847
William Deedes (Conservative); John Pemberton Plumptre (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1852
Edward Cholmley Dering (Peelite); William Deedes (Conservative)
2,879
36.9% (top seat)
Brook William Bridges (Conservative)
523 (6.3 pts)
58.3%
1857
Brook William Bridges (Conservative); Edward Cholmley Dering (Peelite)
2,358
33.6% (top seat)
William Deedes (Conservative)
142 (2.0 pts)
44.3%
1859
Brook William Bridges (Conservative); William Deedes (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Brook William Bridges (Conservative); Edward Cholmley Dering (Liberal)
3,195
34.4% (top seat)
Norton Joseph Knatchbull (Conservative)
276 (3.0 pts)
56.5%
1868
Edward Leigh Pemberton (Conservative); George Watson Milles (Conservative)
5,104
26.7% (top seat)
Henry James Tufton (Liberal)
419 (2.1 pts)
74.8%
1874
George Watson Milles (Conservative); Edward Leigh Pemberton (Conservative)
5,405
35.8% (top seat)
Henry James Tufton (Liberal)
1,097 (7.2 pts)
60.0%
1880
Aretas Akers-Douglas (Conservative); Edward Leigh Pemberton (Conservative)
5,473
34.7% (top seat)
Edmund Francis Davies (Liberal)
514 (3.2 pts)
60.6%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Pemberton Plumptre
Whig
3,476
36.8%
Yes
Edward Knatchbull
Conservative
3,344
35.4%
Yes
William Richard Cosway
Conservative
2,627
27.8%
No
William Percy Honeywood Courtenay
Whig
4
0.0%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
John Pemberton Plumptre
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Edward Knatchbull
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Knatchbull
Conservative
3,607
40.8%
Yes
John Pemberton Plumptre
Conservative
3,029
34.3%
Yes
Thomas Rider
Whig
2,205
24.9%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Knatchbull
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Pemberton Plumptre
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Deedes
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
John Pemberton Plumptre
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Cholmley Dering
Peelite
3,063
36.9%
Yes
William Deedes
Conservative
2,879
34.7%
Yes
Brook William Bridges
Conservative
2,356
28.4%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Brook William Bridges
Conservative
2,379
33.6%
Yes
Edward Cholmley Dering
Peelite
2,358
33.3%
Yes
William Deedes
Conservative
2,216
31.3%
No
EA Acheson
Radical
127
1.8%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Brook William Bridges
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
William Deedes
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Brook William Bridges
Conservative
3,208
34.4%
Yes
Edward Cholmley Dering
Liberal
3,195
34.3%
Yes
Norton Joseph Knatchbull
Conservative
2,919
31.3%
No
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Edward Leigh Pemberton
Conservative
5,231
26.7%
Yes
George Watson Milles
Conservative
5,104
26.0%
Yes
Henry James Tufton
Liberal
4,685
23.9%
No
John Frederick Croft
Liberal
4,579
23.4%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
George Watson Milles
Conservative
5,424
35.8%
Yes
Edward Leigh Pemberton
Conservative
5,405
35.7%
Yes
Henry James Tufton
Liberal
4,308
28.5%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Aretas Akers-Douglas
Conservative
5,541
34.7%
Yes
Edward Leigh Pemberton
Conservative
5,473
34.3%
Yes
Edmund Francis Davies
Liberal
4,959
31.0%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
East Kent has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Whig, Conservative, Peelite, Liberal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won East Kent in the 1880 general election?
Aretas Akers-Douglas (Conservative), Edward Leigh Pemberton (Conservative) won East Kent in 1880.
Which parties have won East Kent since 1832?
Since 1832, East Kent has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite, Whig.
What was the closest result in East Kent?
The closest result on record for East Kent was 1857, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 142 votes (2.0 percentage points).
Did East Kent ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, East Kent 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.