Rochester and Strood
Represented in Parliament by Lauren Edwards (Labour). Here is who won the last general election here, and a few numbers about the area.
Your MP at a glance
Lauren Edwards, Labour. Open their full page →
These describe the record. They do not say why an MP voted or claimed as they did.
How Rochester and Strood compares
Every dot is one of the 631 areas that have figures. The large red dot is this area; green dots are areas like it.
This area is 172 of 631 for pay, counting from the highest.
Higher than 438 areas and lower than 210.
Areas like this one
The three areas with the closest pay and claimant rate. This says nothing about politics or geography.
| Area | Weekly pay | Claimants |
|---|---|---|
| Rochester and Strood | £820 | 4.0% |
| Stretford and Urmston | £827 | 4.4% |
| North Ayrshire and Arran | £797 | 4.2% |
| Basildon and Billericay | £795 | 4.1% |
| United Kingdom | £767 | 3.9% |
Who lives in Rochester and Strood
From the 2021 Census, next to the figure for England and Wales as a whole. Census day was 21 March 2021, so some things will have changed.
| About the area | This area | England and Wales | Compared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of people | 103,037 | 59,597,740 in total | |
| Aged under 16 | 20% | 18% | 2 points higher |
| Aged 65 and over | 16% | 19% | 2 points lower |
| Adults with a degree or higher | 27% | 34% | 7 points lower |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 62% | 4 points higher |
| Households renting from a council or housing association | 15% | 17% | 2 points lower |
| Households renting privately | 18% | 20% | 2 points lower |
Source: ONS, Census 2021 (England and Wales), via the UK Data Service statistics portal. Fetched 2026-10-04. These describe who lives here. They do not explain how anyone votes.
Labour
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Lauren Edwards won with 36% of the votes, and Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative) came second with 29%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauren Edwards | Labour | 15,403 | 36.2% |
| Kelly Tolhurst | Conservative | 12,473 | 29.3% |
| Daniel Dabin | Reform UK | 9,966 | 23.4% |
| Cat Jamieson | Green Party | 2,427 | 5.7% |
| Graham Colley | Liberal Democrat | 1,894 | 4.4% |
| John Innes | Workers Party of Britain | 245 | 0.6% |
| Peter Burch | Heritage Party | 190 | 0.4% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
Updated 4 Oct 2026