Maidstone and Malling.
Conservative and Unionist Party MP Helen Grant holds the seat on 30.5% of the vote — a split-council geography across 2 councils.
1 Jun 2026
Grant's most distinctive recent move is backing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill -- twice, at Second and Third Reading in November 2024 and March 2025 -- against her party's majority. Both rebel votes put her on the same side as the Labour government in support of creating a "smokefree generation." Beyond that, she votes with Conservative colleagues almost universally: a 99.3% party-line record, opposing Labour on pension fund investment powers, devolution legislation, and the privilege motion over Keir Starmer's conduct on the Mandelson appointment.
Grant participates in roughly half of all Commons votes -- below the average for most MPs -- but has been consistently active in debate, contributing to 34 debates in recent months across crime, social care, health, and the economy. Her stance profile marks her as strongly opposed to tax increases and in favour of business, parliamentary scrutiny, and tougher sentencing, with almost no alignment on workers' rights or progressive taxation. She deviates most sharply from Conservative colleagues on assisted dying, voting against access where over half her party backed it.
Locally, she has been visible on constituency casework: engaging police over antisocial behaviour at Kings Hill, lobbying planning inspectors against large housing developments her constituents oppose, calling for the removal of a water company CEO over service failures, and pressing Kent County Council on road closures causing gridlock. Coverage across 79 articles over 90 days is largely neutral in tone. She holds no committee seats, so scrutiny of legislation outside the chamber is not a feature of her current role. Speech data runs to March 2026; vote data extends to May 2026.
Ward-level direction-of-travel: who controls what, who flipped recently, who holds the line. Each ward links to the council that runs it.
| Ward | Latest winner | Votes | Council | Last cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allington Bridge(2 seats) | Rodwell · Jeffery | 1,736 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Aylesford North North Downs(3 seats) | McDermott · Davis · Dalton | 2,599 | Tonbridge and Malling Con | May 2023 |
| Aylesford South Ditton(3 seats) | Williams · Cannon · Hammond | 3,082 | Tonbridge and Malling Con | May 2023 |
| Barming Heath Teston(2 seats) | Sweetman · Gooch | 1,477 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Fant Oakwood(3 seats) | Milham · Coates · Harper | 3,343 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Grove Green Vinters Park(3 seats) | Naghi · Field · Burke | 2,670 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Kings Hill(3 seats) | Brown · Harman · Tanner | 3,180 | Tonbridge and Malling Con | May 2023 |
| Palace Wood(2 seats) | Forecast · Cannon | 1,882 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Penenden Heath(3 seats) | Naghi · Conyard · Harwood | 3,275 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Ringlestone | Mike Thompson | 325 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
| Tovil(2 seats) | Higson · Wilby | 770 | Maidstone Con | May 2024 |
Source · Democracy Club · DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The seat’s population is concentrated in Maidstone (76,276), with Larkfield (19,885) as the second pole. Total population across named built-up areas: 110,184.
Source · ONS Built-Up Areas · Census 2021
| Settlement | Pop. | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Maidstone | 76,276 | city |
| Larkfield | 19,885 | large town |
| Kings Hill | 9,515 | town |
| West Malling | 3,034 | village |
| Rural & dispersed | 1,474 | village |
Headline indicators.
| Indicator | Local | National | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment rate | 62.5% | 57.1% | +9% |
| Owner-occupied | 66.0% | 63.1% | +5% |
| Private rented | 20.5% | 20.0% | +3% |
| Social rented | 13.5% | 16.8% | -20% |
Ethnicity.
Source · Census 2021
Population by age & sexCensus 2021 · 18 bands · click to expand
Source · Census 2021 (ONS) · % of usual residents; tick marks the median seat per band
Income tax contribution.
| Total income tax | £400m |
| Taxpayers | 59,000 |
| Median per taxpayer | £3,290 |
| Mean per taxpayer | £6,790 |
Source · HMRC SPI · ±8% confidence
Where the money flows back in.
This constituency is served by Maidstone and Tonbridge and Malling. Each council’s service spend, peer rank and supplier list lives on its own page — open from the meta block above or the compass strip below.
Move the income slider on My place to see income tax, NI, VAT and council tax against your earnings — the household lens.
Headline rate.
By category.
Source · data.police.uk · 3-month rate per 1,000 pop
2024 — full result.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helen GrantWON | Con | 14,146 | 30.5 |
| Maureen Cleator | Lab | 12,472 | 26.9 |
| Paul Thomas | Ref | 9,316 | 20.1 |
| David Naghi | LD | 6,375 | 13.7 |
| Stuart Jeffery | Grn | 3,727 | 8.0 |
| Yolande Kenward | Ind | 197 | 0.4 |
| Gary Butler | Ind | 156 | 0.3 |
Turnout 46,389
Prior contests.
Created on the 2023 boundary review. 2024 General Election was the first contest on these boundaries.
Sources, methods & last update
2023 boundary review
DCLEAPIL v1.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Census 2021
National avg over 575 seats
±8% confidence
LSOA-aggregated · rolling 12mo