Kent
Every election cycle we have data for, most recent first.
Cycles
- 2025 72 races · 81 seats 75.3% below quota
- 2021 72 races · 81 seats 32.1% below quota
- 2019 2 races · 2 seats 100.0% below quota
- 2017 72 races · 81 seats 30.9% below quota
Council composition as of 2025
81 councillors, by party. One square per seat. Source: opencouncildata annual snapshot — reflects the council at the end of 2025 (after that year's elections, by-elections and defections). Hover any seat for the party.
Most recent election (2025)
In 2025, 81 seats were up across 72 wards. The table below shows what each party actually won — alongside what they would have won if the 81 seats had been shared in proportion to votes received (how, with caveats). The Δ column is the actual seat count minus the proportional seat count — positive numbers are parties First-Past-the-Post over-represented; negative are parties it under-represented.
| Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | % of seats | Proportional seats | Proportional % | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform UK | 173,145 | 37.0% | 57 | 70.4% | 31 | 38.3% | +26 |
| Conservative Party | 101,136 | 21.6% | 5 | 6.2% | 18 | 22.2% | -13 |
| Green Party | 64,010 | 13.7% | 5 | 6.2% | 11 | 13.6% | -6 |
| Labour Party | 61,339 | 13.1% | 2 | 2.5% | 11 | 13.6% | -9 |
| Liberal Democrats | 55,375 | 11.8% | 12 | 14.8% | 10 | 12.3% | +2 |
| Swale Independents | 5,083 | 1.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Independent | 3,058 | 0.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Tunbridge Wells Alliance | 1,968 | 0.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Ashford Independent | 1,303 | 0.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents' Association | 641 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Independents for Tunbridge Wells | 599 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Heritage Party | 223 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Homeland Party | 114 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| The Socialist Party of Great Britain | 85 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| British Democratic Party | 70 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Total | 468,149 | 100.0% | 81 | 100.0% | 81 | 100.0% | 0 |
Vote share vs seats won
The top bar is each party's share of votes cast in this council. Below, one square per seat, coloured by the party that won it — first the actual First-Past-the-Post result, then what a proportional method would have produced from the same vote totals. Divergence between the bar and the actual grid is the indictment of the method.
Full ward-by-ward results for 2025 →
Composition history
One row per opencouncildata annual snapshot — the council at the end of each year (after that year's elections, by-elections and defections). Newest first; hover any seat for the party.
Ward by ward
Each row is a ward, each column a cycle. Each cell shows the top-of-poll candidate's party (swatch) and their share of valid ballots. Wards are matched by name across cycles — boundary reviews can mean a ward of the same name is a slightly different area in a later cycle.
| Ward | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford Central | 59% | 56% | 40% | |
| Ashford East | 41% | 45% | 42% | |
| Ashford Rural East | 60% | 57% | 40% | |
| Ashford Rural South | 62% | 61% | 48% | |
| Ashford Rural West | 63% | 65% | 39% | |
| Ashford South | 32% | 44% | 48% | |
| Birchington and Rural | 56% | 55% | 42% | |
| Broadstairs | 58% | 51% | 33% | |
| Canterbury City North | 36% | 43% | 43% | |
| Canterbury City South | 41% | 41% | 39% | |
| Canterbury North | 55% | 53% | 34% | |
| Canterbury South | 44% | 46% | 56% | |
| Cheriton Sandgate and Hythe East | 42% | |||
| Cheriton, Sandgate and Hythe East | 42% | 34% | ||
| Cliftonville | 55% | 57% | 40% | |
| Cranbrook | 60% | 52% | 29% | |
| Dartford East | 62% | 50% | 45% | |
| Dartford North East | 42% | 44% | 36% | |
| Dartford Rural | 70% | 74% | 46% | |
| Dartford West | 49% | 60% | 37% | |
| Deal and Walmer | 48% | 50% | 36% | |
| Dover North | 54% | 52% | 44% | |
| Dover Town | 44% | 52% | 51% | |
| Dover West | 61% | 62% | 48% | |
| Elham Valley | 54% | 50% | 44% | |
| Faversham | 43% | 45% | 44% | |
| Folkestone East | 36% | 38% | 41% | |
| Folkestone West | 44% | 43% | 34% | |
| Gravesend East | 49% | 54% | 45% | |
| Gravesham Rural | 71% | 67% | 45% | |
| Herne Bay East | 55% | 54% | 37% | |
| Herne Village and Sturry | 60% | 60% | 42% | |
| Hythe West | 41% | 49% | 43% | |
| Maidstone Central | 44% | 41% | 26% | |
| Maidstone North East | 50% | 39% | 35% | |
| Maidstone Rural East | 70% | 65% | 45% | |
| Maidstone Rural North | 66% | 67% | 35% | |
| Maidstone Rural South | 68% | 46% | 36% | |
| Maidstone Rural West | 49% | 60% | 37% | |
| Maidstone South | 42% | 42% | 40% | |
| Maidstone South East | 52% | 65% | 51% | |
| Malling Central | 57% | 68% | 56% | |
| Malling North | 65% | 64% | 37% | |
| Malling North East | 69% | 44% | ||
| Malling Rural East | 74% | 65% | 43% | |
| Malling Rural North East | 73% | |||
| Malling West | 69% | 65% | 46% | |
| Margate | 36% | 42% | 37% | |
| Northfleet and Gravesend West | 45% | 43% | 47% | 41% |
| Ramsgate | 35% | 38% | 41% | |
| Romney Marsh | 42% | 62% | 64% | |
| Sandwich | 61% | 60% | 34% | |
| Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley | 64% | 64% | 37% | |
| Sevenoaks North East | 59% | |||
| Sevenoaks Rural North East | 78% | 42% | ||
| Sevenoaks Rural South | 63% | 61% | 27% | |
| Sevenoaks Town | 48% | 46% | 46% | |
| Sevenoaks West | 63% | 59% | 35% | |
| Sheppey | 46% | 69% | 54% | |
| Sittingbourne North | 41% | 36% | 42% | 49% |
| Sittingbourne South | 42% | 40% | 38% | |
| Swale East | 54% | 52% | 36% | |
| Swale West | 43% | 56% | 46% | |
| Swanley | 65% | 55% | 42% | |
| Swanscombe and Greenhithe | 43% | 40% | 36% | |
| Tenterden | 71% | 69% | 39% | |
| Tonbridge | 54% | 54% | 51% | |
| Tunbridge Wells East | 41% | 48% | 37% | |
| Tunbridge Wells North | 42% | 35% | 42% | |
| Tunbridge Wells Rural | 65% | 47% | 35% | |
| Tunbridge Wells South | 53% | 40% | 38% | |
| Tunbridge Wells West | 55% | 42% | 35% | |
| Whitstable East and Herne Bay West | 48% | 54% | 38% | |
| Whitstable West | 42% | 43% | 35% | |
| Wilmington | 63% | 72% | 45% |