Kent's only Labour MP Rosie Duffield will stand again at the next election after surviving a Labour trigger ballot.

The Canterbury and Whitstable MP, who learned the result via Twitter last night, gained a majority share to fend off the potential for an open selection process.

About 1,300 signed-up Labour supporters - as well as affiliates from trade unions and other organisations - took part in the ballot held across the last six days.

They were asked if Ms Duffield should be awarded the party’s candidacy for the next national vote, or whether it should be up for open selection.

The 51-year-old's victory comes amid long-running unrest in the local party, with KentOnline understanding that some of members and councillors declined to endorse their MP.

Ms Duffield, who in January admitted she was considering her position in the Labour party, won the city seat in 2017 in a shock victory over Tory veteran Julian Brazier.

She had been selected to stand at short notice by the National Executive Committee, and was automatically reselected in the snap election of 2019, so had, until now, never been officially backed by local members.

In a pamphlet circulated prior to the ballot, Ms Duffield said her time in office has been one of “chaos under the Conservatives, with Brexit, continual cuts to public services, and their attacks on refugees, freedom of speech, and the right to protest.

“We are about to see our third Tory Prime Minister in the last five years and the next General Election might be soon.

“Together we can work to elect a Labour Government, invest in our communities, rebuild our public services and tackle the climate crisis.”

A formal announcement declaring last night's result is yet to be made, but Ms Duffield has confirmed her reselection on Twitter.

The MP, who has been embroiled in a row surrounding trans rights for the past two years, became Canterbury's first-ever Labour parliamentary representative after defeating the Tories by 187 votes five years ago.

She then went on to beat Conservative candidate Anna Firth in 2019, increasing her majority to 1,836.

Half of the votes in this week's reselection ballot were allocated to party members across 15 wards in the constituency, while the remaining 50% went to affiliates.