1. Kelly Jane Tolhurst was born on 23 August 1978 and is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood from 2015 to 2024.
15 Facts About Kelly Tolhurst
1. 2.
Kelly Tolhurst is a former councillor for the Rochester West ward on Medway Council.
3.
Kelly Tolhurst was born in Rochester, where her father Morris Kelly Tolhurst was a boat builder.
4.
Kelly Tolhurst attended Wainscott Primary School in Rochester and Chapter School in Strood, a non-selective state school for girls aged 11 to 18.
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Kelly 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.
6.
Kelly Tolhurst was selected to contest the 2014 Rochester and Strood by-election which was triggered by the defection of Mark Reckless to UKIP.
7.
Kelly 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.
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Kelly Tolhurst served on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the European Scrutiny Committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.
9.
Kelly Tolhurst was made an assistant government whip during the reshuffle on 9 January 2018.
10.
Kelly 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.
11.
In February 2020, Kelly 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.
12.
Kelly Tolhurst campaigned to remain in the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.
13.
Kelly 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.
14.
Kelly Tolhurst resigned from this position in January 2021 after receiving "devastating family news".
15.
On 1 July 2022, Kelly Tolhurst was appointed Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, following the resignation of Chris Pincher.