Gillingham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Gillingham
Rainham
Twydall

Current constituencyCreated2010Member of ParliamentNaushabah Khan (Labour)SeatsOneCreated fromGillingham

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

2010–present: The Borough of Medway wards of: Gillingham North (nearly all); Gillingham South; Hempstead & Wigmore (nearly all); Rainham North; Rainham South East; Rainham South West; Twydall; Watling.^[3]

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the composition of the constituency from the 2024 general election remained unchanged.^[4]

Constituency profile

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;^[5] 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.^[6]

Residents' wealth is around average for the UK, but below average for the South East region.^[7] 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

Gillingham prior to 2010

Election		Member^[8]	Party
	2010	Rehman Chishti	Conservative
	2024	Naushabah Khan	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Gillingham and Rainham ^[9]
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	+21.4
	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

General election 2019: Gillingham and Rainham^[10]
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

General election 2017: Gillingham and Rainham
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

General election 2015: Gillingham and Rainham^[11]
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^[12]	1,707	3.6	–14.5
	Green	Neil Williams	1,133	2.4	+1.6
	TUSC	Jacqui Berry^[13]	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

General election 2010: Gillingham and Rainham^[14]
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.

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.

References

^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

External links

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

Constituencies in South East England (91)

Labour (36)