Herne Bay and Sandwich: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Sir Roger Gale (Conservative) is the MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, elected at the general election of 4 July 2024. The 2024 count gave Roger Gale (Conservative) 17,243 votes and Helen Whitehead (Labour) 14,744, a majority of 2,499. 48,827 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 77,869, 62.7% of those registered.
Key figures
What the figures show
Compared with other constituencies, Herne Bay and Sandwich has the 26th highest share of adults retired (2021) of the 575 constituencies with this figure (31.3%).
The Annual Population Survey puts the employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds at 73.8% for April 2025 to March 2026, give or take 8.5 points. 26.2% were economically inactive.
The ONS estimates 102,520 people lived in Herne Bay and Sandwich in mid-2024, up 6.7% on 2014. 28,601 were aged 65 or over and 16,327 were under 16.
The median price paid for a home was £325,000 in the year to March 2026 (ONS, from HM Land Registry data). Ten years earlier, in the year to March 2016, it was £229,995. The highest March-year median in the series was £350,000, in the year to March 2023. It ranks 221st highest of 575 constituencies. 1,373 sales were registered in the period, against 1,746 in the year to March 2025.
DWP figures count 4,328 children under 16 in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, 26.5% of children here against 26.0% across the UK. On the before-housing-costs measure it rose from 15.5% in 2021/22 to 17.3% in 2024/25.
Residents of Herne Bay and Sandwich earned more than jobs based there paid in April 2025: median full-time pay was £35,333 for workplace jobs and £37,761 for residents. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £36,526. The residents' figure ranks 289th lowest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
Census 2021: 43,337 households, 410.0 people per square kilometre, 25.9% of workers based at home, 31.3% of adults retired.
Workplaces in Herne Bay and Sandwich accounted for 29,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 4,340 local units for March 2026.
The claimant count for September 2026 was 2,005, or 3.5% of the working-age population. A year earlier the count was 1,885.
MP
Sir Roger Gale, Conservative
- MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 9 June 1983
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Sir Roger Gale on this site
In Parliament
Hansard records these as Sir Roger Gale's latest words in Parliament, from 13 October 2026 to 26 October 2026. Hansard search returns 388 spoken contributions by Sir Roger Gale since 4 July 2024.
I hope you received my note, Mr Vickers, indicating that I could not be here at the start. I offer my apologies to the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley), who moved the motion, and all other colleagues. I meant no disrespect; I was chairing a Committee upstairs.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Mr. Trump’s disgraceful show of support for Putin has clearly raised the stakes, not only in Ukraine but in the Baltic states and Poland.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I associate myself with the remarks that have already been made about the murder of Sir David Amess five years ago to the day. David was a dear personal friend. He came into the House on the same day as myself and the Father of the House, my right hon.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Kent was once rightly regarded as the garden of England, but faced with intolerable pressures on their finances, many of the small farmers in Kent—having looked to the sustainability scheme for help and having been denied it—are now having to sell their land for housing and …
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I am most grateful, Mr Speaker. Let me go back to the beginning: we do not have acres of peatland in east Kent, but we do have acres of wonderful marshland and sites of scientific interest.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Gale | Conservative | 17,243 | 35.3% | −29.1 |
| Helen Whitehead | Labour | 14,744 | 30.2% | +5.8 |
| Amelia Randall | Reform UK | 10,602 | 21.7% | |
| Thea Barrett | Green Party | 3,529 | 7.2% | +3.5 |
| Angie Curwen | Liberal Democrat | 2,709 | 5.5% | −1.9 |
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 35.3% | Labour 30.2% | 2,499 | 62.7% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 64.4% | Labour 24.4% | 20,372 | 67.0% |
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
Herne Bay and Sandwich covers wards in 3 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
- Canterbury E07000106
- Thanet E07000114
- Dover E07000108
Who has power over Herne Bay and Sandwich
Every body that makes decisions for Herne Bay and Sandwich, 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
- Herne Bay and Sandwich this page: Sir Roger Gale (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 Herne Bay and Sandwich?
Sir Roger Gale (Conservative), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Herne Bay and Sandwich?
The House of Commons Library records 17,243 votes for Roger Gale of Conservative and a majority of 2,499; 62.7% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Herne Bay and Sandwich?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 2,005, 3.5% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Herne Bay and Sandwich?
£325,000: 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 Herne Bay and Sandwich?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £37,761 (April 2025).
How many children in Herne Bay and Sandwich live in low income families?
4,328 children under 16, 26.5%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Herne Bay and Sandwich?
102,520 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.