Gillingham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency)
| Gillingham and Rainham | |
|---|---|
| Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Interactive map of boundaries from 2024 | |
 Boundary of Gillingham and Rainham in South East England | |
| County | Kent |
| Electorate | 73,951 (2023)[1] |
| Major settlements | |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2010 |
| Member of Parliament | Naushabah Khan (Labour) |
| Seats | One |
| Created from | Gillingham |
Gillingham and Rainham is a constituency[n 1] in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Naushabah Khan of the Labour Party.[2][n 2] It was previously represented since its 2010 creation by Rehman Chishti of the Conservative Party and replaced the previous constituency of Gillingham.
Boundaries
[edit]2010–2023: The Borough of Medway wards of Gillingham North, Gillingham South, Hempstead and Wigmore, Rainham Central, Rainham North, Rainham South, Twydall and Watling.
2023–present: Further to a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023[3][4], the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Borough of Medway:
- Gillingham North (nearly all); Gillingham South; Hempstead & Wigmore (nearly all); Rainham North; Rainham South East; Rainham South West; Twydall; Watling.[5]
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.[6]
Constituency profile
[edit]The constituency is generally suburban and centred on Gillingham, historically a small port, which is within the London Commuter Belt. Local retail, industry, business parks, trades and professions provide constituents with a high level of employment, mostly on moderate to middle incomes;[7] however, the area is not wholly resilient to unemployment. Registered claimants who were registered jobseekers were marginally lower than the national average of 3.8% at 3.5% of the population, according to a statistical compilation by The Guardian.[8]
Residents' wealth is around average for the UK, but below average for the South East region.[9] The predecessor constituency of Gillingham was a Labour-Conservative marginal seat though prior to 1997 was a safe Conservative seat. The current constituency had been considered a safe Conservative seat until 2024.
Members of Parliament
[edit]Gillingham prior to 2010
| Election | Member[10] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Rehman Chishti | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Naushabah Khan | Labour | |
Elections
[edit]Elections in the 2020s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Naushabah Khan | 15,562 | 37.8 | +9.4 | |
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 11,590 | 28.2 | −33.1 | |
| Reform UK | Rizvi Rawoof | 8,792 | 21.4 | N/A | |
| Green | Kate Belmonte | 2,318 | 5.6 | +3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stuart Bourne | 2,248 | 5.5 | +0.1 | |
| Independent | Peter Cook – UCAT | 344 | 0.8 | +0.3 | |
| CPA | Roger Peacock | 175 | 0.4 | +0.1 | |
| SDP | Peter Wheeler | 111 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,972 | 9.6 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 41,140 | 55.9 | −6.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 73,523 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |  21.3
|
|||
Elections in the 2010s
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 28,173 | 61.3 | +5.9 | |
| Labour | Andy Stamp | 13,054 | 28.4 | –7.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Bullion | 2,503 | 5.4 | +2.6 | |
| Green | George Salomon | 1,043 | 2.3 | +1.2 | |
| UKIP | Rob Martin | 837 | 1.8 | –2.5 | |
| Independent | Peter Cook | 229 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| CPA | Roger Peacock | 119 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 15,119 | 32.9 | +13.6 | ||
| Turnout | 45,958 | 62.5 | –4.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +6.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 27,091 | 55.4 | +7.4 | |
| Labour | Andy Stamp | 17,661 | 36.1 | +10.5 | |
| UKIP | Martin Cook | 2,097 | 4.3 | –15.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Chaplin | 1,372 | 2.8 | –0.8 | |
| Green | Clive Gregory | 520 | 1.1 | –1.3 | |
| CPA | Roger Peacock | 127 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Majority | 9,430 | 19.3 | –3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 48,868 | 66.9 | +2.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –1.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 22,590 | 48.0 | +1.8 | |
| Labour | Paul Clark | 12,060 | 25.6 | –2.1 | |
| UKIP | Mark Hanson | 9,199 | 19.5 | +16.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Chaplin[15] | 1,707 | 3.6 | –14.5 | |
| Green | Neil Williams | 1,133 | 2.4 | +1.6 | |
| TUSC | Jacqui Berry[16] | 273 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Independent | Roger Peacock | 72 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Mike Walters | 44 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 10,530 | 22.4 | +3.9 | ||
| Turnout | 47,078 | 64.8 | –1.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 21,624 | 46.2 | +5.5 | |
| Labour | Paul Clark | 12,944 | 27.7 | –13.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Stamp | 8,484 | 18.1 | +2.8 | |
| UKIP | Robert Oakley | 1,515 | 3.2 | +0.6 | |
| BNP | Brian Ravenscroft | 1,149 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| English Democrat | Dean Lacey | 464 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Trish Marchant | 356 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Independent | Gordon Bryan | 141 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Medway Independent Party | George Meegan | 109 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,680 | 18.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 46,786 | 66.0 | +2.0 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +9.3 | |||
Paul Clark was the incumbent MP for Gillingham.
See also
[edit]- List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent
- List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)
Notes
[edit]- ^ A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
- ^ 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
[edit]- ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – South East". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Gillingham and Rainham – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ LGBCE. "Medway | LGBCE". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "The Medway (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".
- ^ "New Seat Details – Gillingham and Rainham". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 6 South East region.
- ^ "Local statistics – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk.
- ^ Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
- ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Gillingham+and+Rainham
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 1)
- ^ "General election 2024 candidates". Medway Council. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Gillingham and Rainham - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "General Election 2019 candidates". www.medway.gov.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "General Election Candidates". Liberal Democrats. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "MORE TUSC CANDIDATES IN PLACE AS ELECTION CHALLENGE GROWS". www.tusc.org.uk. 19 December 2014.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
External links
[edit]- Gillingham and Rainham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Gillingham and Rainham UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK
