Rochester and Strood (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochester and Strood
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rochester and Strood in South East England
County	Kent
Electorate	72,155 (2023) [1]
Major settlements	Rochester, Strood, Chatham (part)
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Lauren Edwards (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Medway

Rochester and Strood is a constituency ^{[n 1]} in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Lauren Edwards from the Labour Party. ^[2] It was previously represented from 2015 by Kelly Tolhurst, a Conservative, who served as Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household. ^{[n 2]}

Constituency profile

Rochester and Strood constituency is situated alongside the River Medway, which joins the Thames Estuary, becoming a wide salty and sea-like waterway at its northern river mouth. It spans the ancient cathedral city of Rochester, the older part of Chatham, and the smaller town of Strood to the west of the river, with a more rural area to the north of Strood on the Hoo Peninsula.

Earnings in the constituency are close to the national average income, ^{[3] [4]} low unemployment compared to the national average (3.5% at the end of 2012) ^[5] and can be considered aside from significant sources of employment, professions and trades in Kent as part of the London Commuter Belt. Levels of reliance on social housing are similar to most of the region in this seat. ^[3]

History

The Rochester constituency has ancient origins dating to the 16th century, but it has seen many changes in the 20th century. From 1885 to 1918 the wider area was split between Chatham, Gillingham and the "old", rural, Medway constituency. The Chatham seat joined Rochester to form Rochester and Chatham in 1950, which formed the core of Medway in 1983.

When the boroughs of Rochester upon Medway and Gillingham merged in 1998 to form, then confusingly, a unitary authority named Medway, the parliamentary constituency of Medway only covered part of the new borough, so in the boundary changes before the 2010 election the seat was renamed to more accurately reflect the area of Rochester and Strood which it now covers.

The seat of Rochester and Chatham, followed by Medway and then Rochester and Strood, had elected members of the party which won the popular vote in the UK at every election since 1959. This had meant that from 1959 to 2014 the area had always been represented by a member of the governing party, apart from the brief period between the February and October elections in 1974 (since Labour formed a minority government in February despite the Conservatives winning the popular vote).

In 2014, the sitting Conservative MP Mark Reckless defected to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), becoming the second MP in a matter of weeks to do so. Reckless resigned his seat, triggering a by-election in which he stood as the UKIP candidate. He won the by-election by just under 3,000 votes and became UKIP's second MP after Douglas Carswell. At the 2015 general election, Reckless was defeated by Conservative candidate Kelly Tolhurst, who had also fought the by-election. Tolhurst secured a majority of over 7,000 votes, meaning the Rochester area once again had an MP on the government benches.

Tolhurst retained her seat at the 2017 and 2019 elections with comfortable majorities, but was defeated by Labour's Lauren Edwards in 2024, maintaining the trend for the area's MP to be a member of the governing party.

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

2010–2024

The Borough of Medway wards of Cuxton and Halling, Peninsula, River, Rochester East, Rochester South and Horsted, Rochester West, Strood North, Strood Rural and Strood South. ^[6]

Current

Further to the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency was reduced to bring its electorate within the permitted range by transferring the Rochester South and Horsted ward (as it existed on 1 December 2020) to Chatham and Aylesford. ^[7]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023, ^{[8] [9]} the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of Medway from the 2024 general election:

• All Saints; Chatham Central & Brompton (part); Cuxton, Halling & Riverside; Fort Pitt (small part); Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow; Rochester East & Warren Wood (most); Rochester West & Borstal; St Mary's Island; Strood North & Frindsbury; Strood Rural; Strood West; and a very small part of Gillingham North. ^[10]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member [11]	Party
	2010	Mark Reckless	Conservative
	2014 by-election		UKIP
	2015	Kelly Tolhurst	Conservative
	2024	Lauren Edwards	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Rochester and Strood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lauren Edwards [12]	15,403	36.2	+8.1
	Conservative	Kelly Tolhurst [13]	12,473	29.3	−29.2
	Reform UK	Daniel Dabin [14]	9,966	23.4	N/A
	Green	Cat Jamieson [15]	2,427	5.7	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Colley [16]	1,894	4.5	–2.7
	Workers Party	John Innes [17]	245	0.6	N/A
	Heritage	Peter Burch [18]	190	0.5	N/A
Majority			2,293	5.4	N/A
Turnout			42,598	57.4	–4.5
Registered electors			74,257
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	18.7

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [19]
Party		Vote	%
	Conservative	26,098	58.5
	Labour	12,545	28.1
	Liberal Democrats	3,170	7.1
	Others	1,667	3.7
	Green	1,155	2.6
Turnout		44,635	61.9
Electorate		72,155

General election 2019: Rochester and Strood ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kelly Tolhurst	31,151	60.0	+5.7
	Labour	Teresa Murray	14,079	27.1	–8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Colley	3,717	7.2	+5.0
	Green	Sonia Hyner	1,312	2.5	+1.0
	UKIP	Roy Freshwater	1,080	2.1	–3.3
	Independent	Chris Spalding	587	1.1	New
Majority			17,072	32.9	+14.6
Turnout			51,926	63.3	–1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.3

General election 2017: Rochester and Strood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kelly Tolhurst	29,232	54.3	+10.2
	Labour	Teresa Murray	19,382	36.0	+16.2
	UKIP	David Allen	2,893	5.4	–25.1
	Liberal Democrats	Bart Ricketts	1,189	2.2	–0.2
	Green	Sonia Hyner	781	1.5	–1.4
	CPA	Steve Benson	163	0.3	New
	Independent	Primerose Chiguri	129	0.2	New
Majority			9,850	18.3	+4.7
Turnout			53,840	65.1	–1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	–3.0

See also: Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15 § Rochester and Strood

General election 2015: Rochester and Strood ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kelly Tolhurst	23,142	44.1	–5.1
	UKIP	Mark Reckless	16,009	30.5	N/A
	Labour	Naushabah Khan	10,396	19.8	–8.7
	Green	Clive Gregory	1,516	2.9	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Prue Bray	1,251	2.4	–13.9
	TUSC	Dan Burn	202	0.4	New
Majority			7,133	13.6	–7.1
Turnout			52,516	66.5	+1.6
	Conservative gain from UKIP		Swing	N/A

By-election 2014: Rochester and Strood ^{[22] [23]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UKIP	Mark Reckless	16,867	42.1	New
	Conservative	Kelly Tolhurst	13,947	34.8	–14.4
	Labour	Naushabah Khan	6,713	16.8	–11.7
	Green	Clive Gregory	1,692	4.2	+2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Geoff Juby	349	0.9	–15.4
	Monster Raving Loony	Hairy Knorm Davidson	151	0.4	New
	Independent	Stephen Goldsborough	69	0.2	New
	People Before Profit	Nick Long	69	0.2	New
	Britain First	Jayda Fransen	56	0.1	New
	Independent	Mike Barker	54	0.1	New
	Independent	Charlotte Rose	43	0.1	New
	Patriotic Socialist Party	Dave Osborn	33	0.1	New
	Independent	Christopher Challis	22	0.1	New
Majority			2,920	7.3	N/A
Turnout			40,065	50.6	–14.3
	UKIP gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

General election 2010: Rochester and Strood ^{[24] [25]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Reckless	23,604	49.2	+6.6
	Labour	Teresa Murray	13,651	28.5	−13.1
	Liberal Democrats	Geoff Juby	7,800	16.3	+3.9
	English Democrat	Ron Sands	2,182	4.5	New
	Green	Simon Marchant	734	1.5	New
Majority			9,953	20.7
Turnout			47,971	64.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
2. "Rochester and Strood – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
3. "Local statistics – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
4. "2011 census interactive maps". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
5. Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
6. 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England
7. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
8. LGBCE. "Medway | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
9. "The Medway (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
10. "New Seat Details – Rochester and Strood". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
11. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
12. "Medway Labour selects candidates for Rochester and Strood and Gillingham and Rainham for General Election". Kent Online. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
13. "Kelly Tolhurst selected to stand again for Rochester and Strood seat at next General Election". Kent Online. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
14. "Rochester and Strood Constituency". Reform UK . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
15. "Medway Green Party's General Election Candidates". Medway Green Party. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
16. "Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates". Mark Pack . Retrieved 13 February 2024.
17. "General election 2024" . Retrieved 3 June 2024.
18. "Rochester and Strood". BBC News . Retrieved 9 June 2024.
19. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.
20. "Rochester & Strood Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
21. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
22. "By-election date set after MP Mark Reckless defects to Ukip". Telegraph.co.uk. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
23. "UKIP's Reckless wins Rochester seat". BBC News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
24. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
25. "Rochester & Strood". BBC News . 7 May 2010.

External links

• Rochester and Strood UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Rochester and Strood UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

51°24′N0°30′E / 51.400°N 0.500°E / 51.400; 0.500