Kelly Tolhurst

Kelly Jane Tolhurst^[1] (born 23 August 1978) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2015 to 2024.^[2] A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Schools and Childhood from September to October 2022.^[3][4][5]

Tolhurst previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rough Sleeping and Housing from 2020 to 2021, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Aviation and Maritime in 2020 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility from 2018 to 2020 and was briefly Deputy Chief Whip in 2022. She is a former councillor for the Rochester West ward on Medway Council.^[6]

Early life

Tolhurst was born in Rochester, where her father Morris Tolhurst was a boat builder. She attended Wainscott Primary School in Rochester and Chapter School in Strood, a non-selective state school for girls aged 11 to 18.^[7][8] From 2008, she ran a marine survey business, called Tolhurst Associates, with her father, with employment in marketing previous to this point.^[9][10]

Political career

Tolhurst was elected to the Rochester West ward on Medway Council in 2011 and served as a councillor until 2018 when she resigned after being appointed as an assistant whip.^[11][12] In the by-election for the ward that followed in March 2018, the seat was taken by the Labour candidate Alex Paterson.^[13] Tolhurst was selected to contest the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election which was triggered by the defection of Mark Reckless to UKIP.^[14] 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.^[15] She was re-elected in 2017.

Tolhurst served on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the European Scrutiny Committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.^[16] She was made an assistant government whip during the reshuffle on 9 January 2018.^[12]

Tolhurst was appointed the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 19 July 2018.^[17]

In February 2020, Tolhurst was appointed as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport at the Department for Transport, succeeding Nus Ghani who had been relieved of ministerial responsibilities.

Tolhurst campaigned to remain in the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.^[18]

Tolhurst was appointed as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government and Homelessness at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in September 2020, replacing Luke Hall, who had in turn replaced Simon Clarke in a different position in the same department. She resigned from this position in January 2021 after receiving "devastating family news".^[19]

On 1 July 2022, Tolhurst was appointed Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, following the resignation of Chris Pincher.^[20]

On 7 September 2022, she was appointed Minister of State in the Department for Education.^[21]

On 8 March 2023, she was appointed as a member of the Privy Council.^[22]

In the 2024 general election, she was unseated by Lauren Edwards from the Labour Party.^[23]

Post-parliamentary career

Following her defeat at the 2024 UK General Election, Tolhurst was appointed as Director at Skippers Line Marine Coatings UK.^[24]

References

1. ^ No. 61961. 19 June 2017. p. 11776.
2. ^ "Election 2015: Rochester & Strood parliamentary constituency". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
3. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
4. ^ "Minister of State (Minister for Schools and Childhood) – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
5. ^ "Kelly Tolhurst MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
6. ^ "MP resigns as local councillor". Kent Online. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
7. ^ "Personal website". MP. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
8. ^ "Chapter School". BBC. 11 January 2007.
9. ^ Holehouse, Matthew (14 October 2014). "Stay-at-home mother lined up to halt Ukip advance". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
10. ^ Letts, Quentin (22 July 2015). "Stay-at-home mother lined up to halt Ukip advance". Tatler. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
11. ^ "Rochester West". Medway Elects. 5 May 2011.
12. ^ Walker, Peter (9 January 2018). "Theresa May's junior ministerial reshuffle: who's in and who's out". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
13. ^ "Rochester West By-election". Medway Elects. 8 March 2018.
14. ^ "Rochester byelection: Tories select local businesswoman Kelly Tolhurst". The Guardian. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
15. ^ Hartley-Parkinson, Richard (8 May 2015). "Tories get revenge on Mark Reckless by taking seat back from Ukip". Metro. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
16. ^ "Parliamentary profile". GOV. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
17. ^ "Kelly Tolhurst MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
18. ^ "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 22 June 2016.
19. ^ Carpani, Jessica (16 January 2021). "Conservative MP Kelly Tolhurst resigns as Housing Minister following 'devastating' family news". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
20. ^ "Kent MP becomes deputy chief whip". Kent Online. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
21. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
22. ^ "Orders for 8 March 2023". Privy Council Office. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
23. ^ "Rochester and Strood – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
24. ^ Crowther, Zoe (6 July 2025). "One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 21 April 2026.

External links

• Official website