Editing Tonbridge (section)

==Governance==
Tonbridge is in the [[county]] of [[Kent]]. After the Norman Conquest [[Richard fitz Gilbert]] acquired Tonbridge and the surrounding area, this district being known as the [[Lowey of Tonbridge|Lowy of Tunbridge]]. The lowy covered the approximate area of the later parishes of Tonbridge, Tonbridge Rural, [[Southborough, Kent|Southborough]], [[Hildenborough]] and [[Hadlow]]. The separate administration of the lowy continued until at least the 14th century, after which it became regarded in a similar way to the other [[hundred (county division)|hundreds]] of the county.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lowy of Tunbridge|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol5/pp173-176|website=British History Online|access-date=16 April 2016|archive-date=25 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425105526/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol5/pp173-176|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1894 local government reforms Tonbridge and Southborough became [[urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban districts]] and the rest of the area became part of Tonbridge Rural District.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tonbridge, Kent Unit and Statistics|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1024/units|website=Vision of Britain|access-date=16 April 2016|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428034959/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1024/units|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1974 the town has been part of the [[Districts of England|local government district]] of [[Tonbridge and Malling]], and is divided into the five local government [[Ward (politics)|wards]] of Cage Green and Angel, Castle, Higham, Judd, Trench and Vauxhall.<ref>As of 2023</ref> These wards have 12 of the 48 seats on the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. As of May 2023, 6 of these seats were held by the Green Party, 3 by the Lib Dems and  3 by the once-dominant Conservatives.  [[Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council]] is responsible for running local services, such as recreation, refuse collection and [[council house|council housing]];<ref>{{cite web | title = Council Services | publisher = Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council | url = http://www.tmbc.gov.uk/cgi-bin/buildpage.pl?mysql=245 | access-date = 25 November 2007 | archive-date = 26 October 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071026102811/http://www.tmbc.gov.uk/cgi-bin/buildpage.pl?mysql=245 | url-status = live }}</ref> while [[Kent County Council]] is responsible for education, social services and trading standards. Both councils are involved in town planning and road maintenance.

Tonbridge is in the [[parliamentary constituency]] of [[Tonbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Tonbridge]].