Rochester and Strood: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Rochester and Strood is represented in the House of Commons by Lauren Edwards (Labour). On 4 July 2024 Lauren Edwards (Labour) won 15,403 votes, 36.2% of the valid vote; Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative) came second with 12,473. 42,598 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 74,257, 57.4% of those registered. The majority was 2,930.
Key figures
What the figures show
The Annual Population Survey puts the employment rate for 16 to 64 year olds at 81.7% for April 2025 to March 2026, give or take 5.3 points. 14.8% were economically inactive.
The ONS estimates 109,506 people lived in Rochester and Strood in mid-2024, up 12.5% on 2014. There were more children under 16 (22,998) than residents aged 65 and over (17,355).
Residents of Rochester and Strood earned more than jobs based there paid in April 2025: median full-time pay was £37,790 for workplace jobs and £40,562 for residents. In April 2024 the residents' figure was £39,531. The residents' figure ranks 213th highest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
Workplaces in Rochester and Strood accounted for 52,000 jobs in 2024; the business register lists 5,430 local units for March 2026.
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 £210,000. It ranks 221st highest of 575 constituencies. 1,190 sales were registered in the period, against 1,488 in the year to March 2025.
In 2024/25, 24.0% of children under 16 in Rochester and Strood (5,519) lived in relative low income families once housing costs are taken off, says the DWP; the UK figure is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it fell from 15.7% in 2021/22 to 15.7% in 2024/25.
The claimant count for September 2026 was 2,815, or 4.1% of the working-age population. A year earlier the count was 2,615.
Rochester and Strood counted 41,442 households on Census day 2021; 18.9% of adults were retired and 27.6% of those in work were mostly working from home.
MP
Lauren Edwards, Labour
- MP for Rochester and Strood since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Lauren Edwards on this site
In Parliament
The 4 most recent spoken contributions by Lauren Edwards in Hansard, from 11 September 2026 to 19 October 2026, quoted from the official report. Hansard search returns 109 spoken contributions by Lauren Edwards since 4 July 2024.
Last week, BAE Systems in Rochester launched its Movement to Work initiative, a three-week programme that will develop practical skills, provide real work experience and build the confidence that Medway needs.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
16. What steps he is taking to improve skills in the defence workforce.
No, I am sorry. I end with the words of Elise Burns, who, like me, called Kent home, and who sadly died in July with secondary cancer of the lungs, liver and bones.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I would point out that there is a range of views among those in the palliative care community. It is specifically for that reason that the Bill allows them not to be involved in the process if they do not wish to be.
Read from the Hansard API on 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lauren Edwards | Labour | 15,403 | 36.2% | +8.1 |
| Kelly Tolhurst | Conservative | 12,473 | 29.3% | −29.2 |
| Daniel Dabin | Reform UK | 9,966 | 23.4% | |
| Cat Jamieson | Green Party | 2,427 | 5.7% | +3.1 |
| Graham Colley | Liberal Democrat | 1,894 | 4.4% | −2.7 |
| John Innes | Workers Party of Britain | 245 | 0.6% | |
| Peter Burch | Heritage Party | 190 | 0.4% |
Result summary as published: Lab gain from Con. 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 | Labour 36.2% | Conservative 29.3% | 2,930 | 57.4% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 58.5% | Labour 28.1% | 13,553 | 61.9% |
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
Rochester and Strood lies within Medway.
- Medway E06000035
Who has power over Rochester and Strood
Every body that makes decisions for Rochester and Strood, 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 3: Local councils
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
- Rochester and Strood this page: Lauren Edwards (Labour) 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 Rochester and Strood?
Lauren Edwards (Labour), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Rochester and Strood?
The House of Commons Library records 15,403 votes for Lauren Edwards of Labour and a majority of 2,930; 57.4% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Rochester and Strood?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 2,815, 4.1% of the 16 to 64 population.
What is the average house price in Rochester and Strood?
£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 Rochester and Strood?
For full-time employees living here the ONS puts median annual pay at £40,562 (April 2025).
How many children in Rochester and Strood live in low income families?
5,519 children under 16, 24.0%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
What is the population of Rochester and Strood?
109,506 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.