Three new MPs for Medway
Full results and analysis from the General Election, plus our weekly events guide, we review the Eagle Tavern, news in brief, and more
Yesterday’s General Election saw sweeping changes to the political landscape in Medway, as all three previously Conservative constituencies switched to Labour. We’ve got the full results and analysis below. It’s not all politics, though, and further down, you’ll find our weekly events guide, a review of the Eagle Tavern in Rochester, news in brief, and more.
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Three new MPs for Medway
Medway has three new MPs today, following a dramatic set of results locally that mirrored the results across much of the country.
All three Medway constituencies switched to Labour, with Naushabah Khan taking Gillingham and Rainham from Rehman Chishti, Lauren Edwards winning Rochester and Strood from Kelly Tolhurst, and Tris Osborne defeating Nathan Gamester in Chatham and Aylesford after Tracey Crouch decided to stand down earlier this year.
While Labour took each seat, there wasn’t much to suggest that the party had won a dominant mandate from the people of Medway. Each Labour candidate saw a modest increase in their vote share compared to the previous election in 2019, but this was dwarfed by the collapse in votes for the Conservative Party candidates and the rise of Reform from a standing start.
Turnout was down across the three constituencies, averaging around 56%, down around 6% from 2019. This starkly contrasts the scenes seen at polling stations across Medway, with many reporting lengthy queues for residents wanting to vote. As a result, it must be concluded that the process for casting a vote has significantly slowed, possibly due to a combination of new voter ID requirements and a change in process within Medway Council’s operation. Aside from the delays, though, there seemed to be no major issues reported locally, though it will take some time to get figures on the state of postal voting in the end, and how many voters were turned away on the day.
In Gillingham and Rainham, Rehman Chishti was defeated following a colourful 14 period in office. Labour councillor Naushabah Khan won the seat with a majority of nearly 4,000 votes, the largest of the Medway constituencies. In her victory speech, Khan said that the result was “about turning a page on a period in our country that has seen a rapid breakdown in trust”. She noted the constituency's challenges, from the High Street to the NHS to a lack of economic opportunities, and pledged to be “an accessible, visible, and hardworking member of parliament”.
Outgoing MP Rehman Chishti, who made a speech longer than the victor, said he was “immensely proud of what we have delivered” in his 14 years in office while congratulating his successor and setting out how the Conservatives now need to form an effective opposition.
Further down the results list, Reform candidate Rizvi Rawoof gained over a fifth of the total vote, while the Liberal Democrats and the Greens managed to hold on to their deposits. Minor candidates Peter Cook and Roger Peacock increased their vote share from previous elections, while the SDP’s Peter Wheeler brought up the rear.
Full Gillingham and Rainham results:
🌹 Naushabah Khan (Labour) - 37.8% (+9.4%)
🌳 Rehman Chishti (Conservative) - 28.2% (-33.1%)
➡️ Rizvi Rawoof (Reform) - 21.4% (-)
🌍 Kate Belmonte (Green) - 5.6% (+3.4%)
🔶 Stuart Bourne (Lib Dem) - 5.5% (+0%)
🐈⬛ Peter Cook (Independent) - 0.8% (+0.3%)
✝️ Roger Peacock (CPA) - 0.4% (+0.2%)
🔴 Peter Wheeler (SDP) - 0.3% (-)
Turnout: 56.1% (-6.4%)
In Chatham and Aylesford, Very Online Labour councillor Tris Osborne won the seat in what was almost a three-way marginal as new Conservative candidate Nathan Gamester and Reform’s Thomas Mallon both scored over 25% of the vote. Osborne especially praised outgoing MP Tracey Crouch and acknowledged that the Tories largely lost the seat due to the national swing more than anything else.
Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats and Greens again held both deposits, with neither the Workers Party, the Christian People’s Alliance, or the SDP troubling the electorate too much.
Chatham and Aylesford results:
🌹 Tris Osborne (Labour) - 35.5% (+9.1%)
🌳 Nathan Gamester (Conservative) - 28.6% (-37.3%)
➡️ Thomas Mallon (Reform) - 24.5% (-)
🌍 Kim Winterbottom (Green) - 6.1% (+3.7%)
🔶 Nicholas Chan (Lib Dem) - 5.3% (-1.4%)
⚙️ Matt Valentine (Workers) - 0.8% (-)
✝️ Adedotun Ogundemuren (CPA) - 0.8% (-)
🔴 Steve Tanner (SDP) - 0.4% (-)
Turnout: 54.5% (-4.6%)
In Rochester and Strood, Labour’s Lauren Edwards, who only became a councillor in 2021, continued her rapid rise as she defeated Kelly Tolhurst to become the new MP. She claimed she wouldn’t make empty promises but that she had huge aspirations for the community, citing investment, jobs, and improvements to public services.
Kelly Tolhurst said it had been the “privilege of her life” to represent her home town before immediately calling on Edwards to support the Chatham Docks campaign and to protect the Hoo Peninsula from housebuilding. Her speech ended on a slightly sour note as she wished the residents of Rochester and Strood “good luck”.
In third place, Reform’s Daniel Dabin picked up 23.4% of the vote. While the Greens managed to preserve their deposit, the Lib Dems, the Workers Party, and the Heritage Party missed out here.
Rochester and Strood results:
🌹 Lauren Edwards (Labour) - 36.2% (+8%)
🌳 Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative) - 29.3% (-29.2%)
➡️ Daniel Dabin (Reform) - 23.4% (-)
🌍 Cat Jamieson (Green) - 5.7% (+2.3%)
🔶 Graham Colley (Lib Dem) - 4.5% (-2.6%)
⚙️ John Innes (Workers) - 0.6% (-)
🏰 Peter Burch (Heritage) - 0.5% (-)
Turnout: 57.5% (-5.8%)
This General Election campaign has felt very long despite only lasting a few weeks, but we have been left with three new MPs at the end of it. Time will tell just how much they can deliver.
In brief
💷 A winning National Lottery ticket purchased in Medway remains unclaimed. A player of the Set for Life game has won £120,000, but no one has come forward with a winning ticket yet, so check yours if you’ve played recently.
✏️ Cene magazine has featured Rochester illustrator Ecamoga. The artist is part of The Big Cheese Co, which puts on the excellent Kicking Against Nothing gigs (more details in the events guide below) and designs their posters.
🌳 A tree planted in Rochester Castle Gardens as a tribute to workers who died on the job has been suddenly cut down by Medway Council. Following an inspection, the tree was deemed unsafe and needed to be significantly reduced.
🏳️🌈 Rochester Castle Live has removed a band from tonight’s Downtown Festival over offensive social media posts. Organisers said the band were dropped over posts that were offensive to the LGBT+ community. Meanwhile, Eternal, who described trans people as ‘hijacking’ the gay community, will play tomorrow.
Out to Lunch: The Eagle Tavern in Rochester
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to The Eagle Tavern in Rochester…
In a fairly central position on Rochester High Street stands the Eagle Tavern, a welcoming, dog-friendly pub with an outside area at the back that incorporates part of the old city wall and seems so large that it goes back to Narnia. Similarly, finding the toilets is its own mini adventure.
I ordered the half rack of ribs, but no ribs were available. Instead, I had the black and blue burger, a classic beef burger with stilton, and added some bacon. It was served with chips, a couple of onion rings in batter and a side salad with a balsamic dressing. To drink, I had a pint of Diet Coke, which, unlike an increasing number of venues, was actually a full pint.
The food was great. The burger was well stacked and well cooked. If anything, the beef patty was too thick and became a challenge to finish. The blue stilton and bacon complemented it well. The chips were fresh and served hot. Very hot. They were tasty, and it was a battle between taste buds and the patience not to get scolded. The onion rings were fresh, and the batter was tasty. The side salad was one of the nicest served in the history of these reviews, notably fresh, complemented by the strong balsamic.
Next time you are looking for a place to stop and eat in Rochester, especially if you have a four-legged friend with you, The Eagle Tavern is definitely a place to check out.
Events this week
🎈 The Chatham Carnival is back tomorrow (Sat 6 Jul) between 10am and 4pm. The main parade is at noon, but you’ll find stalls and activities throughout the High Street. Free.
🎤 The first Superboxx ‘Festival’ at Rochester Castle is tomorrow (Sat 6 Jul). A nostalgia event largely based around the 90s, the lineup sees acts like B*Witched, Eternal, and DJ Luck & MC Neat take the castle stage. Tickets £40/45.
🎨 Medway Open Studios starts tomorrow (Sat 6 Jul) and runs until 14 Jul. Visit Medway artists in their studios and other spaces across our towns, learn about what they do, and make some amazing discoveries. Free.
🎷 The run of Rochester Castle concerts this year concludes with Uptown ‘Festival’ on Sunday (7 Jul). In a nod to many previous castle concerts, UB40 will headline for the umpteenth time. Tickets £52.
🏃 The Medway Mile is back next Friday (12 Jul). The mass participation event is open to anyone who wants to run, jog, or walk a one-mile course around Medway Park, as well as other activities and entertainment. Free.
🎸 Kicking Against Nothing is back next Friday (12 Jul) at Poco Loco in Chatham. A night of noisy punk bands will see Laramie Jr, Eunuchs, and Occupants take to the stage. Tickets £5.
More Authority
Earlier in the week, we looked at the aforementioned Medway Open Studios, an arts festival happening over the next couple of weekends where 180 artists open up their studios or set up exhibitions in other places across our towns. It’s an excellent festival, and we encourage you to go down and visit some of the artists taking part.
Footnotes
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I’ll be at another gig at Poco Loco the next day. The 13th. The mighty Broken Banjo are playing their first gig since Covid! I’m very excited.