Medway is all blue once more.

Mark Reckless certainly rocked the boat in the November by-election but Conservative supporters dropped anchor and came back all guns blazing in the general election.

Polls closed at 10pm yesterday, but it took seven hours for the constituency counts to begin at Medway Park, Gillingham, due to a late rush of postal ballots.

Kelly Tolhurst unseated Mr Reckless, for the Tories to claim back their seat in Rochester and Strood.

She got 23,142 votes to Mr Reckless’ 16,009.

Naushabah Khan for Labour got 10,396 votes while Prue Bray for the Liberal Democrats picked up 1,251.

Clive Gregory for the Green Party got 1,516 and TUSC’s Daniel Burn 202.
Theories that Reckless rose to victory last year because a large portion Conservative voters stayed silent seems to have been proved true. The Tory stronghold is now back to full force after close to 20% more people turned up to vote compared to the by-election.

Tracey Crouch and Rehman Chishti also managed to hold their seats in Chatham, and Gillingham and Rainham respectively.

Ms Crouch won with 21,614 votes. That’s 11,000 more than her closest rival Labour’s Tristan Osborne, on 10,159.
Ukip’s Ian Wallace got 8,581 votes, and the Green’s Luke Balnave picked up 1,101.

Thomas Quinton for the Lib Dems got 1,360 votes and John Gibson for the Christian People’s Alliance, 133.

Mr Chishti won his seat again with 22,590 votes.
Labour’s Paul Clark, who was also defeated as sitting MP in 2010, got 12,060 and Mark Hanson for Ukip 9,199.

Neil Williams for the Greens got 1,133 and Paul Chaplin for Lib Dems 1,707.
Jacqui Berry for TUSC got 273 and independents Roger peacock and Mike Walters got 72 votes and 44 respectively.

The number of people voting in the Towns was way up compared to the 2010 election.
In Rochester and Strood there was a 66.78% turnout compared to 58% in 2010 and just 50% in the by-election.

In Chatham turnout was 67.43% compared to 59% in 2010, while in Gillingham and Rainham it was ever-so slightly down at 65.19% compared to, 66% in 2010.

For full election coverage and what was said on the night pick up a copy of the Medway Messenger on Monday.