Gillingham and Rainham
UK Parliament constituency (since 2010)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| 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 |
Constituency profile
Gillingham and Rainham is a generally suburban constituency located in the borough of Medway in Kent. It contains the connected towns and villages of Gillingham, Rainham, Twydall, Hempstead and Wigmore. Gillingham is an important commercial centre for the region,[3] and employment in the town was traditionally focused on the Royal Navy's Chatham Dockyard, which lies just outside the constituency's boundaries.[4] High levels of deprivation are present in Gillingham, which contains mostly terraced housing. Rainham, Wigmore and Hempstead are generally affluent and suburban in character with mostly detached or semi-detached housing.[5] The average house price in the constituency is low compared to the rest of South East England and marginally lower than the national average.[6]
In general, residents of the constituency have low levels of education and professional employment. Average household income is similar to the rest of the country but lower than the regional average. White people made up 84% of the population at the 2021 census, a similar proportion to the country as a whole.[6] At the local council, Gillingham is represented by the Labour Party whilst the rest of the constituency elected Conservatives. Voters strongly supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum, with an estimated 62% voting in favour of Brexit compared to 52% nationwide.[6]
Boundaries
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,[7][8] 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.[9]
The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged.[10]
Members of Parliament
Gillingham prior to 2010
| Election | Member[11] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Rehman Chishti | Conservative | |
| 2024 | Naushabah Khan | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Naushabah Khan | 15,562 | 37.8 | +9.4 | |
| Conservative | Rehman Chishti | 11,590 | 28.2 | −33.1 | |
| Reform | 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 | 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
| 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[16] | 1,707 | 3.6 | –14.5 | |
| Green | Neil Williams | 1,133 | 2.4 | +1.6 | |
| TUSC | Jacqui Berry[17] | 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
Notes
- 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.
