Election 97

Thanet South

Current MP Jonathan Aitken
Conservative 97 17,899
Labour 97 20,777
LibDem 97 5,263
Nationalist 97 0
Other 97 1,049
Elected party
Thanet South

Robert Waller wrote
Old constituency Thanet South
Conservative 92 25,222
Labour 92 13,723
LibDem 92 8,936
Nationalist 92 0
Other 92 870
Elected party Conservative

No longer a real island - though it was in Roman times - the Isle of Thanet forms the north-eastern tip of Kent. Its overall tone is old-fashioned, patriotic - and Conservative. This southernmost of the two Thanet seats is not quite as dominated by tourism and retirement homes as Thanet North. It even contains pockets of Labour support in the working port of Ramsgate and council estates in some smaller towns. It is slightly less Tory than North - but not by much. The Lib Dems have declined here, and Labour is the stronger challenger, but MP Jonathan Aitken's 11,000 majority is surely an impossible nut to crack.


Super Profiles

1,050 2.86 9.03 32
6,630 18.06 11.17 162
3,244 8.84 11.25 79
3,920 10.68 14.70 73
401 1.09 10.45 10
923 2.51 2.81 89
8,222 22.40 8.01 280
7,748 21.11 15.25 138
1,974 5.38 7.13 75
1,808 4.93 10.17 48