Medway Elects
Search
Search

Kelly Tolhurst

The Rt Hon. Kelly Tolhurst is a former Conservative member of parliament for Rochester and Strood. She represented the constituency between May 2015 and May 2024.

Photo: UK parliament. Licence: CC BY 3.0

During her time in parliament, Kelly served as minister of state for schools and childhood, treasurer of HM household (the deputy chief whip), parliamentary under-secretary of state for rough sleeping and housing, parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport, parliamentary under-secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, an assistant whip, parliamentary private secretary to the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, and parliamentary private secretary to the secretary of state for international development.

Kelly has stood in seven elections in Medway. She has been elected on five occasions.

Political Career

Kelly has served in the following posts:

Medway Council

UK Parliament

Government Posts

Some of Medway's current and former representatives have also represented other parts of the country in local government, devolved assemblies and both houses of parliament. Where possible, we have tried to include parliamentary roles in other parts of the country in this section, but owing to the time and research involved, some of this data may require updating.

Committee Memberships

Kelly has served on the following committees:

Medway Council

With the exception of the council, committee terms shown are calculated by reference to the first and last attendance recorded for Kelly. Cabinet terms are only available from March 2010 onwards. Click on the name of a committee above to see all its members and find out what role the committee plays on the council.

UK Parliament

Attendance at Council Meetings

The full council meets six times a year and, unless there are extenuating circumstances, all councillors are expected to attend these meetings.

Kelly's attendance record for full council meetings is as follows:

Council attendance records are only available from October 2001 onwards. Click on a term to see how Kelly Tolhurst's attendance compared to the other councillors for that term.

Attendance at Cabinet Meetings

The cabinet is the council's executive branch, responsible for proposing the policy framework and budget to the rest of the council and for taking decisions on resources and priorities throughout the year.

Kelly's attendance record for cabinet meetings is as follows:

Cabinet attendance records are only available from March 2010 onwards. Click on a term to see how Kelly Tolhurst's attendance compared to the other members of the cabinet for that term.

Attendance at Committee Meetings

Councillors usually sit on a number of scrutiny or decision-making committees. Additionally, they may substitute for another member of a committee who is unable to make a meeting.

Kelly's attendance record for these committee meetings is as follows:

Attendance as a substitute member of a committee is not included in the calculation of the attendance rate. Committee attendance records are only available from October 2001 onwards. Click on a term to see how Kelly Tolhurst's attendance compared to the other councillors for that term.

We are still working on adding historic attendance records to our database. The earliest council meeting we have attendance data for is that held on 13 November 2008. The earliest committee meeting we have attendance data for is that held on 21 November 2007. Please bear with us while we work back to the earliest data available.

Councillors' Allowances

All councillors are entitled to a basic allowance and to claim for certain travel and subsistence expenses. Some councillors have special responsibilities (e.g. a cabinet portfolio or chairing a committee) and receive an additional allowance.

The amount Kelly received each year in allowances and expenses was:

  Total £58,303.56
Basic allowance £35,760.06
Special responsibility allowance £22,464.17
Travel and subsistence £79.33

Allowances information is only available from 2005 onwards. Click on a year to see how Kelly Tolhurst's allowances compared to the other councillors for that year.

Voting History

Most decisions taken by councillors at meetings of the full council are made by unanimous agreement or, if the decision is disputed, by show of hands. However, the council's constitution states that in certain circumstances, or if six or more members request, a "recorded vote" may be taken, where each councillor's vote is recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

The votes recorded for Kelly are as follows:

2015 to 2019

2011 to 2015

Recorded votes are only available from December 2001 onwards. Click on a vote to see the full details of the motion and how the other councillors voted.

MPs' Expenses

All members of parliament receive a basic salary and some receive an additional salary if they have specific parliamentary jobs. Ministerial salaries are paid by a separate body and not listed here.

MPs are entitled to claim the london area living payment (LALP) to help cover the increased cost of living in central London, or otherwise claim accommodation expenses for a second property or hotel stays. They are also entitled to claim expenses to cover the cost of running their office (rent, essential bills and staff payroll) and essential travel.

All expenses are within agreed limits set by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

The amount Kelly received each year in salary and expenses was:

MPs' expenses information is only available from 2010 onwards. Click on a year to see a detailed breakdown of Kelly Tolhurst's salary and expenses.

Did you know? Medway Elects is an independent project with minimal advertising income and no super-rich donors. If you have found our service useful, please consider supporting us with a regular monthly donation on Patreon or buy us a coffee to help support our ongoing running costs!
Your Representatives