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Isle of Thanet — UK General Election Results

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

Isle of Thanet was won by Conservative at the 1970 general election, with a majority of 11,725 votes over Labour. This page covers every general election in Isle of Thanet from 1885 to 1970.

Full Election History, 1885–1970

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 Edward Robert King-Harman (Conservative) 3,381 55.9% Edmund Francis Davies (Liberal) 711 (11.8 pts) 76.2%
1886 Edward Robert King-Harman (Conservative) 3,399 72.2% Edward Gripper Banks (Liberal) 2,088 (44.3 pts) 59.3%
1892 James Lowther (Conservative) 3,901 57.7% Heber Leonidas Hart (Liberal) 1,044 (15.4 pts) 68.2%
1895 James Lowther (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1900 James Lowther (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Harry Hananel Marks (Conservative) 5,154 51.3% Joseph King (Liberal) 1,193 (11.9 pts) 84.4%
Jan 1910 Norman Carlyle Craig (Conservative) 6,892 66.9% Julian William Wellesley Weigall (Liberal) 3,482 (33.8 pts) 81.8%
Dec 1910 Norman Carlyle Craig (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1918 Norman Carlyle Craig (Unionist) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1922 Esmond Cecil Harmsworth (Unionist) 16,116 61.2% Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor (Liberal) 5,890 (22.4 pts) 68.4%
1923 Esmond Cecil Harmsworth (Unionist) 13,821 50.1% Reginald Logan Rait (Liberal) 48 (0.2 pts) 69.5%
1924 Esmond Cecil Harmsworth (Unionist) 21,130 65.8% Arthur Fairfax Charles Coryndon Luxmoore (Liberal) 14,351 (44.7 pts) 77.6%
1929 Harold Harington Balfour (Unionist) 22,595 52.9% Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor (Liberal) 6,947 (16.3 pts) 73.3%
1931 Harold Harington Balfour (Conservative) 33,173 74.2% George Ivor Phillips (Liberal) 21,656 (48.5 pts) 73.6%
1935 Harold Harington Balfour (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1945 Edward Carson (Conservative) 15,023 48.7% Thomas Christopher Boyd (Labour) 2,948 (9.6 pts) 68.9%
1950 Edward Carson (Conservative) 31,345 55.5% Thomas Christopher Boyd (Labour) 10,823 (19.2 pts) 83.0%
1951 Edward Carson (Conservative) 33,551 61.6% Otto Leslie Shaw (Labour) 12,659 (23.2 pts) 78.0%
1955 William Rupert Rees-Davies (Conservative) 31,270 62.2% Kingston Jones (Labour) 12,289 (24.5 pts) 71.9%
1959 William Rupert Rees-Davies (Conservative) 29,453 54.5% Henry Arthur Fountain (Labour) 11,898 (22.0 pts) 75.1%
1964 William Rupert Rees-Davies (Conservative) 27,870 47.7% Ernest Wistrich (Labour) 7,350 (12.6 pts) 74.2%
1966 William Rees-Davies (Conservative) 29,302 47.5% Leonard Bishop (Labour) 4,886 (7.9 pts) 75.7%
1970 William Rees-Davies (Conservative) 33,434 51.9% Leonard Bishop (Labour) 11,725 (18.2 pts) 72.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Robert King-Harman Conservative 3,38155.9% Yes
Edmund Francis Davies Liberal 2,67044.1% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Robert King-Harman Conservative 3,39972.2% Yes
Edward Gripper Banks Liberal 1,31127.8% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Lowther Conservative 3,90157.7% Yes
Heber Leonidas Hart Liberal 2,85742.3% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Lowther Conservative Unopposed Yes

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Lowther Conservative Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harry Hananel Marks Conservative 5,15451.3% Yes
Joseph King Liberal 3,96139.5% No
Frederick McCormick Goodhart Thanet Conservative and Unionist League 9259.2% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Norman Carlyle Craig Conservative 6,89266.9% Yes
Julian William Wellesley Weigall Liberal 3,41033.1% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Norman Carlyle Craig Conservative Unopposed Yes

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Norman Carlyle Craig Unionist Unopposed Yes

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Esmond Cecil Harmsworth Unionist 16,11661.2% Yes
Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor Liberal 10,22638.8% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Esmond Cecil Harmsworth Unionist 13,82150.1% Yes
Reginald Logan Rait Liberal 13,77349.9% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Esmond Cecil Harmsworth Unionist 21,13065.8% Yes
Arthur Fairfax Charles Coryndon Luxmoore Liberal 6,77921.1% No
Dudley Leigh Aman Labour 4,20213.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harold Harington Balfour Unionist 22,59552.9% Yes
Alfred Jesse Suenson-Taylor Liberal 15,64836.6% No
Edgar Joseph Plaisted Labour 4,49010.5% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harold Harington Balfour Conservative 33,17374.2% Yes
George Ivor Phillips Liberal 11,51725.8% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Harold Harington Balfour Conservative Unopposed Yes

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Carson Conservative 15,02348.7% Yes
Thomas Christopher Boyd Labour 12,07539.2% No
Philip John Willmett Liberal 3,73212.1% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Carson Conservative 31,34555.5% Yes
Thomas Christopher Boyd Labour 20,52236.4% No
Charles John Verschoyk Wrong Liberal 4,5618.1% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Edward Carson Conservative 33,55161.6% Yes
Otto Leslie Shaw Labour 20,89238.4% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rupert Rees-Davies Conservative 31,27062.2% Yes
Kingston Jones Labour 18,98137.8% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rupert Rees-Davies Conservative 29,45354.5% Yes
Henry Arthur Fountain Labour 17,55532.5% No
George Edward MacDonald-Jones Liberal 6,99813.0% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rupert Rees-Davies Conservative 27,87047.7% Yes
Ernest Wistrich Labour 20,52035.2% No
David Norrington Liberal 9,97917.1% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rees-Davies Conservative 29,30247.5% Yes
Leonard Bishop Labour 24,41639.6% No
Frederick Redman Liberal 7,95212.9% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Rees-Davies Conservative 33,43451.9% Yes
Leonard Bishop Labour 21,70933.7% No
Tudor Gates Liberal 7,17611.1% No
Ian Josephs Independent Conservative 2,1363.3% No

Margin Over Time

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

1885: Conservative margin 11.8 pts 1886: Conservative margin 44.3 pts 1892: Conservative margin 15.4 pts 1906: Conservative margin 11.9 pts Jan 1910: Conservative margin 33.8 pts 1922: Unionist margin 22.4 pts 1923: Unionist margin 0.2 pts 1924: Unionist margin 44.7 pts 1929: Unionist margin 16.3 pts 1931: Conservative margin 48.5 pts 1945: Conservative margin 9.6 pts 1950: Conservative margin 19.2 pts 1951: Conservative margin 23.2 pts 1955: Conservative margin 24.5 pts 1959: Conservative margin 22.0 pts 1964: Conservative margin 12.6 pts 1966: Conservative margin 7.9 pts 1970: Conservative margin 18.2 pts 1885 1886 1892 1906 Jan 1910 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970

Trend

Isle of Thanet has been contested at 23 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Isle of Thanet in the 1970 general election?

Conservative won Isle of Thanet in 1970 with 33,434 votes (51.9%), a majority of 11,725 votes over Labour in second place.

Which parties have won Isle of Thanet since 1885?

Since 1885, Isle of Thanet has been won by: Conservative, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Isle of Thanet?

The closest result on record for Isle of Thanet was 1923, when Unionist beat Liberal by just 48 votes (0.2 percentage points).

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