Press Release
Medway Labour Boundary Commission proposals destroy local community ties and towns’ historic identities
We were appalled to read Medway Labour Group’s proposals for Gillingham, Rainham, Rochester, Strood, and Chatham and Aylesford. We can only conclude that Labour’s proposals were designed with one vision in mind: to put all Labour demographic areas together so that Labour Party could win parliamentary seats which they could not win otherwise. Their proposals have zero regard for local community ties and our five towns’ identity, history, heritage and culture.
The Labour proposals are also bewildering as they call areas Medway, which have parts of Tonbridge and Malling, which are clearly not Medway.
Medway Unitary Local Authority covers 5 separate principal towns, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham and Strood, with their own heritage and History which local residents and we as their Members of Parliament are proud of, and constituents are easily able to identify and relate to their local Members of Parliament, which is only a good thing for Democracy.
The Conservative Party is supporting the Boundary Commission proposals for Gillingham and Rainham, Chatham and Aylesford, which brings about minimal change, and with Rochester and Strood has suggested that there should be no change to that constituency as it already has the required electorate of over 71,031 as set out by parliament to ensure every MP represents a similar number of people.
The Boundary Commission criteria sets out that the Commission will have regard to local community ties and, as far as possible, keep existing Constituencies in their current format, which the Boundary Commission proposals for our seats in the Medway sub region achieve. Only 1 council ward out of 22 in Medway unitary area changes, which ensures there is minimum change disruption for local communities, and preserves the area’s local identity with the names of their separate principal towns.
Rehman Chishti MP Gillingham and Rainham
Tracey Crouch MP Chatham & Aylesford
Kelly Tolhurst MP Rochester & Strood
ENDS