Faversham and Mid Kent: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Faversham and Mid Kent is represented in the House of Commons by Helen Whately (Conservative). Helen Whately took the seat for Conservative in July 2024 with 14,816 votes (31.8%), ahead of Mel Dawkins (Labour) on 13,347. 46,594 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 74,301, 62.7% of those registered. The majority was 1,469.
Key figures
What the figures show
Two figures set Faversham and Mid Kent apart: the 8th lowest economic inactivity rate of the 632 constituencies with this figure (9.9%), and the 24th highest employment rate of the 632 constituencies with this figure (85.2%).
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 85.2% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 6.5 points. 9.9% were economically inactive.
HM Land Registry sales put the middle house price at £365,000 for the year to March 2026. Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £260,000. The highest March-year median in the series was £380,000, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 165th highest of 575 constituencies. 1,259 sales were registered in the period, against 1,538 in the year to March 2025.
Median annual pay for full-time work was £35,854 for jobs in Faversham and Mid Kent and £36,950 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). In April 2024 the residents' figure was £38,937. The residents' figure ranks 240th lowest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
In mid-2024 the ONS put the number of residents at 104,995; the estimate for 2014 was 91,574. There were more residents aged 65 and over (21,986) than children under 16 (20,920).
Workplaces in Faversham and Mid Kent accounted for 37,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,965 local units for March 2026.
4,835 children in Faversham and Mid Kent were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 23.1% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 14.9% in 2021/22 to 15.3% in 2024/25.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits stood at 1,865 in September 2026, a claimant rate of 3.0%. September 2025 had 1,770.
Census 2021: 40,173 households, 262.9 people per square kilometre, 31.0% of workers based at home, 24.4% of adults retired.
MP
Helen Whately, Conservative
- MP for Faversham and Mid Kent since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 7 May 2015
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Helen Whately on this site
In Parliament
What Helen Whately said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 8 July 2026 to 13 October 2026). Hansard search returns 169 spoken contributions by Helen Whately since 4 July 2024.
Thirty years ago, nearly one in three pensioners in our country lived in poverty.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I am surprised that the right hon. Gentleman did not know the answer, but I can help him. It is £400 million a year. That is why he is dragging his heels on welfare reform.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
The working-age welfare bill is set to reach £170 billion by the end of this Parliament, up £45 billion on the welfare party’s watch. All around the country, the residents of “Benefits Street” are doing better under Labour.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Every DWP Question Time, Labour Members dutifully line up to give the welfare Secretary a chance to make it look like he is doing something about the youth unemployment crisis—a crisis of their own making.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Every holiday period, Kent and my constituency of Faversham and Mid Kent is brought to a standstill, and that has become much worse with the introduction of the EU entry-exit system, despite the fact that our ports and Eurotunnel have invested in the technology.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 24 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Whately | Conservative | 14,816 | 31.8% | −30.8 |
| Mel Dawkins | Labour | 13,347 | 28.6% | +8.8 |
| Maxwell Harrison | Reform UK | 9,884 | 21.2% | |
| Hannah Temple | Green Party | 4,218 | 9.1% | +5.0 |
| Hannah Perkin | Liberal Democrat | 4,158 | 8.9% | −3.5 |
| Lawrence Rustem | British Democratic Party | 171 | 0.4% |
Result summary as published: Con hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Conservative 31.8% | Labour 28.7% | 1,469 | 62.7% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 62.6% | Labour 19.9% | 20,618 | 67.2% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Faversham and Mid Kent covers wards in 2 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
Who has power over Faversham and Mid Kent
Every body that makes decisions for Faversham and Mid Kent, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Faversham and Mid Kent this page: Helen Whately (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | mid-2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median house price | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Homes sold | the year to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Households | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents per square kilometre | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Workers mainly working from home | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Residents aged 16+ who are retired | Census 2021 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent?
Helen Whately (Conservative), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Faversham and Mid Kent?
The House of Commons Library records 14,816 votes for Helen Whately of Conservative and a majority of 1,469; 62.7% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Faversham and Mid Kent?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 1,865, 3.0% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Faversham and Mid Kent?
£365,000: the middle price of homes sold in the year to March 2026, published by the ONS from Land Registry records.
What is the average salary in Faversham and Mid Kent?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £36,950 (April 2025).
How many children in Faversham and Mid Kent live in low income families?
4,835 children under 16, 23.1%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Faversham and Mid Kent?
104,995 in mid-2024, the latest ONS estimate.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.