The General Election results for Thanet are finally in.
Conservative Craig Mackinlay has taken the South Thanet seat with more than 56% of the vote.
He polled 27,084 votes, some 10,587 ahead of nearest competitor Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt who gained 16,497 votes.
Mr Mackinlay thanked his wife, Party and former campaigner Wayne Elliot.
He said: “The people of South Thanet want to get Brexit done and move on.”
He said the issue had paralysed Parliament and added: “It looks like there is a significant Conservative majority to get this country back on track again.”
He thanked Green’s Becky Wing and Lib Dem Martyn Pennington but criticised the nature of the Labour campaign, prompting some anger from supporters of Rebecca Gordon Nesbitt.
Veteran Conservative Sir Roger Gale, who has held the North Thanet seat since 1983, has again been elected with 30,066 votes – equalling 62% of the poll. Labour’s Dr Coral Jones took 12,877 – 27%.
Sir Roger thanked wife Suzy, his campaign team and office staff.
He added: “I would like to thank Angie Curwen and Rob Edwards for a courteous, clean campaign.”
Sir Roger added that he was humbled at being elected again.
South Thanet
Conservative Craig Mackinlay, 27,084 (56%)
Labour Rebecca Gordon- Nesbitt, 16,497 (34%)
Lib Dem Martyn Pennington. 2,727 (6%)
Green Party Becky Wing 1,949 (4%)
North Thanet
Conservative Sir Roger Gale, 30,066 (62%)
Labour Dr Coral Jones, 12,877 (27%)
Lib Dem Angie Curwen 3,439 (7%)
Green Party Rob Edwards. 1,796 (4%)
Turn out
Turn out North Thanet 66.56% and 48,428 ballot papers for an electorate of 72,756.
South Thanet 66.19%, and 48,468 ballot papers for an electorate of 73,223.
The figures are a slight dip on the 2017 General Election turn out which was South Thanet 68.91% and in North Thanet 66.63%.
National picture
Conservatives take power with a majority government. The Party needed 326 seats for overall control and were projected to take 363. Currently (5.24am) the party has achieved 339 seats with Labour on 200.
Final result: Con 365, Lab 203, SNP 48, Lib Dem 11, DUP 8, Sinn Fein 7, Plaid Cymru 4, Green 1, Other 3
For a full round up of the night read:
For such a run down area as thanet low paid jobs high rent, high homelessness etc. Thanet votes in the torys who want to close down our stroke unit and open a dirty polluting big white elephant called manston airport. How I wish I was one of the well off now all I have to look forward to is seeing the rich get richer and me and millions like me get poorer. Lots more food banks will be needed in thanet, Britain use to be a country built on good communities now its all about yourself sod anyone else , we dont even now or care about our neighbours, thatcher lives on …
You have no comprehension of the disdain over Brexit and the depth of feeling regarding the levels of immigration in the area, it has undoubtedly had hugely negative effects on areas like cliftonville in particular, the prospects of the local electorate and that of their children. For the “liberal elite” to shut these concerns down with shouts of “xenophobe and racist” only compounded the anger.
You should instead have been listening and understanding that the language used was not that of the bigot , rather the language the people in question use everyday in a different sense.
Thanets problems are that its been a dumping ground for society’s least fortunate for far too long , we’re surrounded by sea on 3 sides so very few businesses have a decent catchement area, and out transport links woeful, thanet way collapsing already after its repair and a rail link still not quick enough.
Forget the socilist ideology and look and listen.
The UK population’s concerns about immigration should have been dealt with seriously years ago. No party did so. However, as apprenticeships and training have not been high on the political agenda for some time, the country’s need for immigrant workers (both skilled and unskilled) ensures that there will not be a drastic fall in the number of immigrants legally entering the U.K.
Migration in itself has helped reduce the provision of training and apprenticeships, employers can rely on an almost limitless supply of ready trained labour willing to work for the minimum wage and the tax credits and benefits the low wage triggers.
So companies have no need to invest much in their workforce, and if you’re a young singleton evenif you do train the poor wages are unattractive as being young, single, no children and living at home , means you get no help from the tax credit system, you effectively end up working for half the total reward in comparison to someone alongside you that has a partner , 2 kids and rents. Totally dispiriting.
Spot on, the Labour far left once again have ailed to listen to the majority of the electorate. Anyone who dares to disagree with their ideology is labelled as racist or xenophobic.
Perhaps if they stopped pontificating and actually listened they might have done better. They have no one to blame other than themselves.
Spot on Confused. We’ve become just what Thatcher had in mind. Look after no 1 and screw the rest. Don’t plan on getting old, or try to get a proper education or need to be admitted to an A&E near you anytime soon. We will soon see that despite “get brexit done”, it will become clear that most of us will,continue to get done by Boris and his money men. No coincidence that only a third of the electorate voted in Kent. Says it all. Let’s hope the right wing press will make sure the tories keep to their word, something they have never done., too busy making difficult decisions,like introducing Universal Credit while handing massive tax breaks to the money men in the city. So sad.
The results of this election are not surprising given the smear campaigns of the right-wing press and its stress on Brexit.
I don’t vote for tories
They are friends with Israel and all my taxes go to bomb Yemen n syria
Oh and gales £37k expenses
Can u explain why all your taxes go to bomb Yemen and Syria plz? Thought u had medical care when needed.police to help.rubbish collections street lights ect but maybe u dont and I can help u get emergency services.water.and free money every week when unemployed or low wages ect and need food paid for by government to sustain u till u find a way to work yourself .some people are starving dying and have nothing in this world and as a british person u should open ur eyes and think how lucky we are to have what we have .its better than alot of other countries.
Confused, the 2 political areas of Thanet include all the villages, and Sandwich and Herne Bay, all of which have far less social and economic deprivation than Ramsgate and Broadstairs. Those of us in these 2 towns see the poverty caused by Tory ideology, the rest can more easily choose not to recognise it
Sorry, should be Ramsgate and Margate
The people have spoken, especially those who did not vote, which is over 30%. It is clear that they are happy with things as they are, and think that getting Brexit done will improve their lives.I hope they are right. In the meantime they will have to accept poverty, poor infrastructure and underfunded public services, as that is their wish.
I don’t want to hear any complaints or blaming Blair or Brown, for anything that might go wrong in the future, as this polity will have lasted 14 years if it goes even near full term.
Choices were made and promises were given, now Messrs Gale and Mackinlay must fulfil them and good luck with that.By the way, immigration is minimal in Thanet (under 8%) and being angry with the opposition parties who have at least recognised their plight, only shows how Brexit has blinded many to the ‘bleedin obvious’ and as such is beyond my ken; but being one of the ‘liberal elite’ ( and what in god’s name does that mean?), because I look beyond the clap trap and bunkum of politicians, I wouldn’t know, would I?.
One small comfort is that Corbyn is or will be history, and even better, flat cap Farage is a foot note (I bet he still gets a knighthood or peerage though).
Immigration is maybe 8% in thanet overall, however in the areas that should be natural supporters of the labour party it is way higher, have a walk round cliftonville with your eyes and ears open, its areas like this that labour should be listening too.
The issues are there to be seen, the fact that TDC chose not to consider the effects of migration on cliftonville when it introduced selective licensing, just goes to show how there is no intention of being honest about the issue. How on earth can you identify and deal with concerns you choose to ignore.
Cliftonville is not Thanet, it has consistently voted Tory,UKIP anything but Labour.It is nearly a decade since Cameron came to power, remember him? Was he not a conservative or am I missing something? Cliftonville has 3 labour cllrs and 3 conservatives.In the past it went nearly all conservative or UKIP.
The Govt has been conservative dominated or led since May 2010. KCC has been conservative since it was formed in 1886. TDC has had mostly conservative administrations since its formation in 1974. By your lights Local Chap, the place ought to be booming. Margate and Cliftonville have had millions thrown at them. Everywhere else in Thanet about 50p. Thanet parkway, Manston and every other daft scheme originates or is supported by our conservative leaders. What do they have to do to not get your vote? All because of immigration! Well it won’t be a problem in future, because no one will want to come here.Well done job done!
If the labour Party or any other political party has to grub for votes by playing the immigration card,then it says more about us and how far we have fallen from being the mother of Parliaments.
I didn’t say that cliftonville was thanet, i did say its the sort of area that labour should do well just as it should in many other parts of margate , ramsgate and westbrook. Migration has been the main bugbear of voters in those areas for years, but labours ideology does not even want to hear, neither did conservative hence the popularity of Farage.
Cliftonville has had tonnes of money thrown at it because it keeps having many of lifes least fortunate dumped there, i’ve worked in the area for 20 years, could write a book on things that just should’nt be, tried living there for a while , but decided it was better to move on.
It was starting to pull its socks up but then fell straight back off the cliff, the influx of the london arty crowd looking for cheaper property and life by the sea , has made a difference but it needs to become more entrenched and others to join them, but what happens to those displaced by the incomers and the properties turned into air bnb?
It’s not playing the “immigration card” its about paying attention to people and their concerns and helping deal with them, but instead they’ll be insulted as “racist and xenophobic” the vast majority are anything but, yet the attitude from the “liberal elite” instantly alienates them.
The labour party needs to stop picking fault with everyone else and spend some time looking inward, if they don’t reform and become a credible opposition the country could be heading for another tory government after this one and no party should have the keys to No.10 for that long.
Just a quick hello to say congratulations on the great result and I hope it all works out o.k. for you. So pleased for you.
Quoting from Alan B’Stard in the New Statesman. The people in Thanet ” Would vote for a hat stand if it had a blue rosette on it.”
What have you done?
The Tories stuff up everything. I left the UK when they joined the EU, no referendum then, but you could read the writing on the wall.
I wouldn’t trust the Tories to sit the right way on the toilet.
I voted Sir Roger Gale in at the winter gardens in 1983 and what a great job he has done.
Nationally we all knew apart from a handful of of people whom apparently knew better that Jeremy Cornyn was never going to be elected.
I hope over the next few years Labour can evolve to a party that will make a good opposition which is always a way of keeping balance in the country however what I have seen after the election don’t hold your breath guys…