South Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)

South Thanet
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of South Thanet in Kent.
Location of Kent within England.
County	Kent
Electorate	67,970 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Sandwich
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	Craig Mackinlay (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Thanet West, Dover & Deal and Thanet East
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	South East England

South Thanet is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK parliament since 2015 by Craig Mackinlay MP, a Conservative.

Tourism is an important economic activity with entertainment and beaches, particularly at Broadstairs. The constituency also includes part of the Stour Valley Walk, which passes through Sandwich on its way to Canterbury and beyond. There are picturesque villages with oast houses. The amount of fishing and coastal trade is much reduced relative to the 19th century, and is small compared to many other British ports. The seat has a higher proportion of retired people than the national average and incomes tend to be clustered around the national mean. Economic developments have included the nearby Thanet Offshore Wind Project as well as commercial, recreational and tourism activities. Farming, trades, and Ramsgate harbour provide much of the employment. Pharmaceuticals received a blow when Pfizer withdrew from the area. The unemployed claimant count, at 5.4%, was the highest of the South East's 84 constituencies at the end of 2010, and greater than the national average of 3.8%. Since its creation in 1983 the seat has been a bellwether.

Nigel Farage, then UKIP leader, stood as candidate for South Thanet at the 2015 General Election. The Conservatives put in a huge effort in response to the UKIP challenge. This resulted in a police investigation into claims that the Conservatives had exceeded spending limits, which amount to around £37,000 for the long campaign, and around £15,000 for the short campaign. The Conservatives provided hotels and transport of activists, which they booked as national (unrestricted) spending, however if included as local spending, they may have broken the limit by large margins.