Who are Kent’s new MPs in Ashford, Dartford, Dover, East Thanet, Folkestone & Hythe, Gravesham, Medway, Sittingbourne & Sheppey, Tunbridge Wells and Weald of Kent?

There has been a seismic shift in Kent’s political landscape overnight, with 12 new MPs set to represent different corners of the county.

Ten of these are Labour, one is a Lib Dem and one is a Conservative.

They include a scientist, a nurse, a former banker, a barrister, two army veterans and the county’s first female Muslim MP.

Here, we take a closer look at each of Kent’s new Members of Parliament…

In Ashford, Sojan Joseph was elected for Labour, ousting Conservative Damian Green who had held the previously true blue seat since 1997.

Mr Joseph has worked in the NHS for the past 21 years as a mental health nurse, most recently as a matron in a mental health unit.

He started his NHS career in the local Arundel Unit, based at the William Harvey Hospital.

He moved to Ashford in 2002 and has been living in Willesborough since 2008 with his wife and three children

Speaking after the result, Mr Joseph said he will focus his attention on improving the lives of Ashford residents.

He said: “I have worked in the NHS for more than 20 years and talk to patients every day.

“I understand first-hand the experiences people are struggling with.

“Improving the town centre and roads, plus helping small businesses are just some of the things I aim to do for people in Ashford.

“The town needs some energy and I plan to work with residents, MPs and the council to revitalise it.”

In Chatham & Aylesford, Tris Osborne gained the seat for Labour from the Conservatives. The seat had previously been held by Dame Tracey Crouch, who decided not to stand at this election.

Mr Osborne grew up in Medway and is a long-standing Labour councillor. He has worked in policing and education.

Speaking after the result he said: “I had two outstanding predecessors. Tracey Crouch was very well respected in the community, and delivered significant successes for the local community, as did Jonathan Shaw, the Labour MP who represented the area for 13 years as well - so I stand in the shadow of giants.

“I hope that I can play my part in that long journey of MPs that we've had. I've got my agenda and I look forward to ensuring that families get the fair crack of the whip and that the community improves.”

He also said his two key focuses as an MP were improving the educational offering to children and cracking down on anti-social behaviour and improving public safety.

In Dartford, Labour’s Jim Dickson has ousted Conservative Gareth Johnson, who had held the seat for 14 years.

Mr Dickson is a councillor in Lambeth and was previously the leader of that local authority.

He previously told KentOnline he has been visiting, working and campaigning in Dartford for more than 20 years.

His partner Nicola is a teacher and their children are both at university.

Speaking after the result, he said: “I am really elated for Dartford who now have a new Labour MP, a fresh start and an MP of the same stripe as the government so it will make it easier for me to take up the issues the people of Dartford are really concerned about.”

He added: “I want to get change and positive responses from the government.

“I am really looking forward to working with everybody who wants to make Dartford a better place.”

In Dover & Deal, Mike Tapp has been elected as Labour MP.

It had been a Conservative seat since 2010 until Natalie Elphicke defected from the Tories to Labour earlier this year. She decided not to stand at the election.

Mr Tapp is an army veteran who was previously deployed on three operational tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, working in a specialist intelligence unit.

After returning to the UK, he became an officer at the National Crime Agency before being recruited by the Ministry of Defence to work in counter-terrorism.

Speaking after the result, he said: “We know what we need to deliver here. Securing the borders, sorting out the cost of living crisis, ensuring that people can see a GP within 48 hours, getting more police on the streets - these are really important matters here.”

Mr Tapp, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, says he will be moving to his new constituency.

In East Thanet, Polly Billington has won the seat for Labour with a landslide victory of 17,054 votes - a majority of almost 7,000.

Ms Billington was previously based in Hackney, where she was a councillor, but moved down to the isle for her campaign.

Speaking after the result she told KentOnline: “One of the first things I need to do is to find somewhere more permanent to live here so that I'm fully part of the community.

“I’m looking forward to it. I love every single minute that I spend here.

“It's one of the most delightful parts of the country and being surrounded on three sides by sea, one of my big priorities as well will be campaigning to clean up our sewage scandal and make sure that we can hold the water industries to account, particularly Southern Water.”

Ms Billington has previously worked as a special advisor to former Labour leader Ed Miliband and as a BBC broadcast journalist.

In Folkestone & Hythe, Tony Vaughan was victorious for Labour in what for decades has been a Tory stronghold.

Mr Vaughan has been working as a barrister for the last 17 years, “fighting for people who have suffered injustice”. He has been employed by Sir Keir Starmer's old law firm Doughty Street Chambers.

He lived in Sandgate with his young family for around nine years, until 2022, when he moved to Canterbury. He served as a trustee for South Kent Mind, a local mental health charity.

Speaking after the result, Mr Vaughan said: "There are so many issues and people are sick to death of the way things are. Things got so bad to the point they knew things had to change.

"People have voted for change. Even people who wouldn't normally vote Labour have got behind us.”

As well as campaigning on the NHS, he also wants “an economic strategy for Folkestone and Hythe that brings together creative, tech, and other growing sectors in the area, to lift our high streets and shared spaces”. This includes the re-opening of Grace Hill library in Folkestone.

In Gillingham & Rainham, Labour’s Naushabah Khan has become Kent’s first female Muslim MP after ousting the Conservatives, who had held the seat since 2010.

She was born and raised in Gillingham, which she has represented as a councillor since 2015, and has most recently served as Medway Council’s portfolio holder for housing.

Ms Khan has previously worked for a national charity tackling homelessness.

Speaking after the result, she said: “This is my hometown, where I grew up, so the opportunity to represent it and actually make change in this community means so much to me, and it's not a job that I'd take lightly.

“One of the big priorities is Gillingham town centre, how we can make that feel safe and welcoming to people, because I think it is symptomatic of the wider issues that we have across Gillingham.”

In Gravesham, Lauren Sullivan has won the seat for Labour, defeating Conservative Adam Holloway who had been MP since 2005.

She lives locally in Northfleet with her husband and two young children. She is a scientist working on neglected tropical diseases, is a published author on the subject and is also a qualified secondary school chemistry teacher.

Mrs Sullivan has most recently been a county and borough councillor for Gravesham.

Speaking after the result, she said: “We have an amazing idea of change for the country and it is many, many months of knocking on doors, listening to residents of Gravesham, finding out their priorities and this is what I hope to raise in Westminster on their behalf.

“We were hopeful. Every vote and every conversation that we have had over many months has been well worth it and I am very grateful to the people of Gravesham for opening up their doors and having those conversations with me.”

Mrs Sullivan added that residents told her their main concerns were over neglected town centres, lack of police on the streets, the state of the NHS and education systems.

In Rochester & Strood, Labour’s Lauren Edwards has unseated Kelly Tolhurst of the Conservatives, who had held the seat since 2015.

She has been a councillor for Rochester East and has been serving as Medway Council’s portfolio holder for economic and social regeneration and investment.

She used to work for the Bank of England and says she made Rochester her home “years ago”.

After her win, Ms Edwards said: “We've got a really strong mandate for a Labour government. I'm really excited about the programme that we can deliver.

“I want to get as much investment and growth as I can here in Rochester and Strood, really deliver for the people, and I'm just really keen to start work.”

She said getting the NHS “back on its feet” was one of her main priorities for the area and said she would serve constituents across the seat, rural and urban, and try to connect with those who did not vote for her.

She also said she would be supporting her predecessor’s request for a call-in on the Chatham Docks decision - which Ms Tolhurst said was a significant concern following her defeat.

In Sittingbourne & Sheppey, Labour’s Kevin McKenna has been elected MP, replacing Conservative Gordon Henderson who has represented the constituency for the past 14 years.

He is a nurse and has worked in the NHS since qualifying in the late 1990s. He has mostly worked on the front line of healthcare in hospitals, including as a matron at NHS Nightingale London during the pandemic.

Mr McKenna, who has recently moved to Sittingbourne, also has experience working on nationwide NHS programmes, developing national strategy and policy for the NHS, including secondments working in Whitehall.

Speaking after the result, Mr McKenna told KentOnline his first concern once he’d assumed office was to tackle the “incredibly low” number of GPs.

“It was quite a long count so I am absolutely exhausted but I also feel elated and really honoured to be the MP for such a great place,” he said.

“I want to bring to this a degree of professionalism and assurance but also a connection to everyone here on the ground.”

In Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin stormed to victory, claiming the Lib Dems first ever seat in Kent, boasting a majority of 8,687 over the Conservatives.

He is a former British army officer who served multiple tours in Helmand, Afghanistan.

Mr Martin, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, has also worked as a senior executive in a global charity and is a Senior Fellow at King’s College London – an expert in geopolitics and conflict – and the author of several books on psychology, conflict and travel.

In his victory speech, Mr Martin said: "We are standing in the aftermath of a political earthquake. Tunbridge Wells has had a Conservative member of parliament for 114 years - but no more.

"This earthquake, epicentre Tunbridge Wells, reverberates across the country.”

He has previously said his priorities are improving Tunbridge Wells’ town centre and getting more affordable housing built.

In the new Weald of Kent seat, Conservative Katie Lam secured a comfortable majority of 8,422.

She has worked in senior roles in three different government departments, most recently as an adviser to the home secretary, helping oversee the government's work on policing, crime and national security. She previously worked in 10 Downing Street, including as deputy chief of staff.

Ms Lam, who lives in Sissinghurst, spent the bulk of her career at Goldman Sachs, rising from intern to Vice President.

She is also an award-winning lyricist and scriptwriter, whose work has been performed on West End stages and off-Broadway in New York.

She studied Classics at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Speaking after the result, she said “standing up for the countryside and rural values will probably be the single most important thing” in her new role as MP.

You can find all the results from a night of political drama in Kent here

What about the rest?

Six of Kent’s MPs kept their seats.

They are Labour’s Rosie Duffield in Canterbury along with Conservatives Helen Whately in Faversham & Mid Kent, Sir Roger Gale in Herne Bay & Sandwich, Helen Grant in Maidstone & Malling, Laura Trott in Sevenoaks and Tom Tugendhat in Tonbridge.