Kelly Tolhurst was first elected as the Conservative MP for Rochester & Strood in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 17,072.
The constituency of Rochester and Stroud is located along the banks of the River Medway in the north of Kent. This is an economically active area, which contains the smaller and more Labour leaning town of Strood, the small cathedral city of Rochester, and some parts of the town of Chatham. This constituency is one of the most marginal areas in the country.
The area regularly changes hands with the government of the day having been won by Labour in 1964, the Conservatives in 1970, Labour in 1974, the Conservatives in 1979, Labour in 1997, and the Conservatives again in 2010. The former Conservative MP, Mark Reckless, won a by-election for UKIP here in 2014 when he defected to the party, but the Conservatives regained the seat quite easily in 2015.
Kelly Tolhurst MP was appointed Minister of State in the Department for Education by Liz Truss in September 2022. She was not reappointed to the government when Rishi Suank became prime minister in October 2022.
Tolhurst has previosuly served in the government as Under Secretary of State for Rough Sleeping and Housing in 2020, having previously served briefly that year, as Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport. She stood down from the position for personal reasons in early 2021.
She was the Under Secretary of State for Business between 2018 and 2020, and an Assistant Whip in 2018.
Born in Rochester in 1978, Tolhurst is the daughter of a local boat builder. She was educated at old Chapter High School.
She ran a marine survey business before being elected to Parliament. According to the Register of Members Interests, she remains a shareholder in Kipper UK Ltd, a marine paint distributors and marine surveyors.
Tolhurst was elected as a councillor to the local Medway Council between 2011 and 2018.
Tolhurst supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. She backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Email: kelly.tolhurst.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.kelly4rochesterandstrood.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/KellyTolhurst
Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/rochesterandstroodkelly
