# Kent East (European Parliament constituency)

Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each. The constituency of Kent East was one of them.

## Boundaries

1979-1984: Ashford; Canterbury; Dover and Deal; Faversham; Folkestone and Hythe; Maidstone; Thanet East; Thanet West.
1984-1994: Ashford; Canterbury; Dover; Faversham; Folkestone and Hythe; Maidstone; Thanet North; Thanet South.
1994-1999: Ashford; Canterbury; Dover; Faversham; Folkestone and Hythe; Thanet North; Thanet South.

## MEPs

| Elected | Elected | Member | Party |
| | 1979 | Christopher Jackson | Conservative |
| | 1994 | Mark Watts | Labour |
| 1999 | 1999 | Constituency abolished: see South East England | Constituency abolished: see South East England |

## Election results

European Parliament election, 1979: Kent East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Jackson | 117,267 | 64.7 | |
| | Labour | J. C. M. S. Holmes | 40,060 | 22.1 | |
| | Liberal | Anthony F. C. Morris | 20,190 | 11.1 | |
| | Independent | D. J. Conlon | 3,788 | 2.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77,207 | 42.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 181,305 | 32.4 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
European Parliament election, 1984: Kent East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Jackson | 92,340 | 52.5 | −12.2 |
| | Labour | D. A. Enright | 43,473 | 24.7 | +2.6 |
| | SDP | Anthony A. Kinch | 34,601 | 19.7 | +8.6 |
| | Ecology | Steven M. Dawe | 5,405 | 3.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 48,867 | 27.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 175,819 | 31.7 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
European Parliament election, 1989: Kent East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Jackson | 85,667 | 44.0 | −8.5 |
| | Labour | Gregory N. J. Perry | 56,706 | 29.1 | +4.4 |
| | Green | Mrs. Penny A. Kemp | 36,931 | 19.0 | +15.9'"`UNIQ−−ref−00000014−QINU`"' |
| | SLD | A. F. C. (Tony) Morris | 15,470 | 7.9 | −11.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 28,961 | 14.9 | −12.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 194,774 | 34.2 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
European Parliament election, 1994: Kent East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mark Watts | 69,641 | 34.5 | +5.4 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Jackson | 69,006 | 34.2 | −9.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John R. Macdonald | 44,549 | 22.1 | +14.2 |
| | UKIP | Colin R. Bullen | 9,414 | 4.7 | New |
| | Green | Steve M. Dawe | 7,196 | 3.6 | −15.4'"`UNIQ−−ref−0000001D−QINU`"' |
| | Natural Law | Colin J. Beckley | 1,746 | 0.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 635 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 201,552 | 40.3 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |