Dover (UK Parliament constituency)

Dover
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Dover in Kent.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Electorate	71,993 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Dover and Deal
Current constituency
Created	1369
Member of parliament	Charlie Elphicke (Conservative)
Number of members	1660 - 1885: Two 1885 - present: One
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

Dover is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

1918-1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Deal and Dover, the Urban District of Walmer, and the Rural Districts of Dover and Eastry.

1950-1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Deal, Dover, and Sandwich, the Rural District of Dover, and part of the Rural District of Eastry.

1983-2010: The District of Dover wards of Aylesham, Barton, Buckland, Capel-le-Ferne, Castle, Cornilo, Eastry, Eythorne, Lower Walmer, Lydden and Temple Ewell, Maxton and Elms Vale, Middle Deal, Mill Hill, Mongeham, Noninstone, North Deal, Pineham, Priory, Ringwould, River, St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, St Radigund's, Shepherdswell with Coldred, Tower Hamlets, Town and Pier, and Upper Walmer.

2010-present: The District of Dover wards of Aylesham, Buckland, Capel-le-Ferne, Castle, Eastry, Eythorne and Shepherdswell, Lydden and Temple Ewell, Maxton, Elms Vale and Priory, Middle Deal and Sholden, Mill Hill, North Deal, Ringwould, River, St Margaret's-at-Cliffe, St Radigund's, Tower Hamlets, Town and Pier, Walmer, and Whitfield.

Dover constituency consists of the greater part of Dover District comprising the towns of Deal, Dover and Walmer together with surrounding villages. It excludes the northern area around the ancient Cinque Port of Sandwich, which together with surrounding villages is part of the South Thanet constituency but was in this constituency between the redistributions for the 1950 and 1983 general elections. It has been a traditional Tory-Labour marginal, with Conservative-voting rural areas competing against mainly Labour-voting Dover itself, plus some former mining villages in the former Kent coalfield, such as Aylesham. Labour held on very solidly here in 2005, with virtually no swing from the previous general election, but the seat went Conservative in the 2010 election on a swing of 10.4% compared to a 4.9% swing nationally.