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Lauren Edwards

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Lauren Edwards
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Rochester and Strood
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byKelly Tolhurst
Majority2,293 (5.4%)
Member of Medway Council
for Rochester East and Warren Wood
Rochester East (2021–2023)
In office
16 December 2021 – 16 December 2024 [1]
Preceded byNick Bowler
Succeeded byTBC
Personal details
Born
Lauren Rae Edwards

Altona, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Adelaide
London School of Economics

Lauren Rae Edwards is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood since 2024.[2]

Early life and career

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Edwards was born in Altona, Melbourne, Australia, and was educated at the University of Adelaide before moving to the UK in 2005 to study for a master's at the London School of Economics.[3][4]

Edwards worked as a parliamentary researcher for a number of Labour MPs including Barbara Keeley, Teresa Pearce and Lisa Nandy from 2008 to 2013.[5][6] During this time she was Political Officer for Unite the Union's Parliamentary Staff Branch.[7] From 2013 to 2016 she worked as a researcher at the postal section of the Communication Workers Union.[8]

Edwards worked at the Bank of England before her selection as a parliamentary candidate, as a manager in financial regulation including a secondment to HM Treasury for about six months working on Brexit related legislation.[3]

Edwards has an English-born mother and holds British citizenship.[3]

Political career

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In 2021, Edwards was elected to Medway Council in a by-election from Rochester East ward.[9] She was cabinet member for economic and social regeneration and inward investment.[10]

In 2024, she defeated incumbent Conservative MP Kelly Tolhurst to gain Rochester and Strood.

On 8 August 2024, Edwards issued an apology on Twitter following the emergence of tweets she wrote between 2009 and 2011 in which she used offensive language, described by The Guardian as a "series of 'racist' tweets", stating it was a "significant error of judgement".[11][12]

In November 2024, Edwards voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Lauren Edwards". Medway Elects. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Rochester and Strood – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Keevil, Steven (5 November 2023). "'I know how to do a lot of the things, I could hit the ground running'". Local Authority. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Local democracy reporter Robert Boddy meets Rochester and Strood parliamentary candidate Lauren Edwards". Kent Online. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  5. ^ Devlin, Kate (8 August 2024). "New Labour MP Lauren Edwards accused of racism over 'f****** Estonians' tweet". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Musk brands Starmer a 'hypocrite' - as X owner goads PM over Labour MP's deleted tweet". Sky News. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. ^ "The Operation of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 - Volume II" (PDF). Committee on Members' Expenses. UK Parliament. 12 December 2011. p. Ev 63. HC 1484–II. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Lauren Edwards". LinkedIn. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Labour's Lauren Edwards Wins Rochester East By-Election With Huge Majority". 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  10. ^ "'I thought people who stood for parliament were not of sound mind...'". Kent Online. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Rochester MP Lauren Edwards apologies for 'significant error of judgement' after old tweets surface". ITV News. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  12. ^ Adu, Aletha (8 August 2024). "Suspended Labour councillor arrested over video 'urging people to cut throats'". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading". Votes in Parliament. 29 November 2024.
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