Constituency profile

Dover and Deal

South East · County constituency · Dover borough

Mike Tapp MP
Sitting MP

Mike Tapp

Labour

First elected July 2024

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
South East
County constituency, Dover council
Last 5 GE winners
CCCCL
Conservative 4/5, Labour 1/5
EU referendum 2016
62.4% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +10.5pp above mean
Current outlook
Reform UK +5.4pp
Vulnerability score 8/10 (Labour projected to lose)
SouthernStrong Leave areaWorking-class profile

About the Dover and Deal constituency

Dover and Deal is a county constituency in the South East, covering most or all of Dover. The sitting MP is Mike Tapp (Labour), first elected in July 2024.

At the 2024 general election, Labour won Dover and Deal with 39.6% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 23.8%, a majority of 7,585 votes. Turnout was 62.5%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has Reform UK on 34.3% and Labour on 28.9% in Dover and Deal, a margin of 5.4 points, a projected change from Labour since 2024. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Dover and Deal is a strongly Leave-voting area (an estimated 62.4% voted Leave in 2016). About 26.0% of residents hold a degree, 65.6% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 45 (2021 Census).

Across the last 5 general elections on record, the seat has been won by the Conservatives 4 times, Labour 1 time (earlier years may be on predecessor boundaries).

Who lives in Dover and Deal? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
62.4%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
26.0%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
19.8%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
65.6%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
33.5%
UK average ~36%
Median age
45.4
UK median ~40
Age 65+
28.1%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
26.0%
UK average ~28%

How did Dover and Deal vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab gain from Con · majority 7,585 votes (15.8pp) · turnout 62.5%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Dover and Deal

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Council layer (not Westminster)

Dover and Deal within Dover

The Westminster constituency of Dover and Deal sits entirely within Dover Council. Local council elections are a separate ballot from Westminster general elections - English councils rotate their election cycles and Dover was not due to vote in 2026, so the figures below show the most recent council ward results available.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Dover
62 LSOAs
100%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Dover and Deal at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Dover and Deal at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorCon gain from LabCharlie Elphicke Dover MP33.5%44.0%15.8%3.5% UKIP-3.2%5,27470.1%
2015predecessorCon holdCharlie Elphicke Dover MP30.7%43.3%3.1%20.3% UKIP2.6%-6,29468.9%-1.2
2017predecessorCon holdCharlie Elphicke Dover MP40.0%52.4%2.6%3.3% UKIP1.8%-6,43769.7%+0.8
2019notionalConservative winnerNatalie Elphicke Dover MP, pre-review boundary32.6%56.9%5.7%-2.7%2.1%12,42167.5%
2024Lab gain from ConMike Tapp39.6%21.7%5.4%23.8% Ref6.5%2.9%7,58562.5%-5.0

Dover and Deal was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Dover (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like Dover and Deal

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Dover and Deal. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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