Gillingham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Dagenham and Rainham (UK Parliament constituency).

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	Gillingham Rainham Twydall
Current constituency
Created	2010
Member of Parliament	Naushabah Khan (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Gillingham

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,^[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

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

Gillingham prior to 2010

Election		Member[10]	Party
	2010	Rehman Chishti	Conservative
	2024	Naushabah Khan	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Gillingham and Rainham^[11][12]

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	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^[13]

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^[14]

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

General election 2010: Gillingham and Rainham^[17]

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

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Kent
• List of parliamentary constituencies in the South East England (region)

Notes

1. A borough 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.