Rochester and Chatham (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochester and Chatham was a parliamentary constituency in Kent which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.

Rochester and Chatham
Former borough constituency for the House of Commons
Rochester and Chatham in Kent, showing boundaries used from 1974 to 1983
1950–1983
Seats	One
Created from	Chatham
Replaced by	Medway, Mid Kent

It largely replaced the former Chatham constituency, which had taken some of the previous Rochester seat in 1918. In turn it gave way to the Medway constituency in 1983, which was renamed Rochester and Strood in 2010.

Boundaries

The Municipal Boroughs of Rochester and Chatham.

History

This constituency was a Labour-Tory marginal seat throughout its 33-year existence.

The seat disappeared at the 1983 general election, and its territory was split between two new constituencies; 55.23% of it went to Medway, and 44.77% to Mid Kent.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1950	Arthur Bottomley	Labour
	1959	Julian Critchley	Conservative
	1964	Anne Kerr	Labour
	1970	Peggy Fenner	Conservative
	Oct 1974	Robert Bean	Labour
	1979	Peggy Fenner	Conservative
	1983	constituency abolished

Election results

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Bottomley	24,855	50.48
	Conservative	Robert Mathew	24,378	49.52
Majority			477	0.96
Turnout			49,233	84.17
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Bottomley	26,390	50.82
	Conservative	Robert Mathew	25,543	49.18
Majority			847	1.64
Turnout			51,933	85.52
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Bottomley	26,645	52.41
	Conservative	John D Campbell	24,198	47.59
Majority			2,447	4.82
Turnout			50,843	82.24
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julian Critchley	26,510	50.98
	Labour	Arthur Bottomley	25,487	49.02
Majority			1,023	1.97	N/A
Turnout			51,997	80.76
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anne Kerr	26,161	50.99
	Conservative	Julian Critchley	25,148	49.01
Majority			1,013	1.98
Turnout			51,309	76.42
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

General election 1966: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anne Kerr	27,938	52.09
	Conservative	Julian Critchley	25,692	47.91
Majority			2,246	4.18
Turnout			53,630	78.11
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peggy Fenner	30,263	54.84
	Labour	Anne Kerr	24,922	45.16
Majority			5,341	9.68	N/A
Turnout			55,185	71.41
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

General election February 1974: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peggy Fenner	24,326	38.76
	Labour	Roger R Kenward	23,483	37.42
	Liberal	C Fellowes	14,945	23.83	New
Majority			843	1.34
Turnout			62,754	79.33
	Conservative hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Bean	26,467	43.38
	Conservative	Peggy Fenner	23,049	39.27
	Liberal	M Black	9,035	15.39
	National Front	G Hazelden	1,150	1.96	New
Majority			2,418	4.11	N/A
Turnout			59,701	73.56
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.7

General election 1979: Rochester and Chatham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peggy Fenner	27,574	47.46
	Labour	Robert Bean	24,886	42.84
	Liberal	M Black	5,219	8.98
	National Front	J King	417	0.72
Majority			2,688	4.62	N/A
Turnout			58,096	72.74
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)