Kelly Tolhurst

Kelly Tolhurst MP
Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2015
Preceded by	Mark Reckless
Majority	7,133 (13.6%)
Personal details
Born	23 August 1978 Rochester, England
Political party	Conservative
Website	Campaign website

Kelly Tolhurst (born 23 August 1978) is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood since the May 2015 general election.^[1]

Early life

Tolhurst was born in Rochester as a daughter of a local boat builder. She ran a marine survey business before being elected to Parliament.^[2]

Political career

Tolhurst was elected to the Medway Council in 2011.^[3] She was selected to contest the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election which was triggered by the defection of Mark Reckless to UKIP.^[4] Tolhurst lost the by-election, held on 20 November 2014, but regained the seat for the Conservatives at the 2015 general election six months later, securing a majority of over 7,000.^[5]

References

1. "Rochester & Strood parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
2. "Stay-at-home mother lined up to halt Ukip advance". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
3. "Medway councillor Kelly Tolhurst beats Anna Firth to become the Conservative candidate for the Rochester and Strood by-election". Kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
4. "Rochester byelection: Tories select local businesswoman Kelly Tolhurst". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
5. "Tories get revenge on Mark Reckless by taking seat back from Ukip". Metro. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

External links

• Official website