About Lauren - Your Labour MP for Gravesham
Lauren lives locally in Northfleet with her husband and two children. Lauren is qualified a scientist who worked on neglected tropical diseases, is a published author on the subject and is also a qualified secondary school chemistry teacher.
Lauren is passionate about representing the views and issue of her fellow residents on a range of issues such as education, environment, social justice, housing, sustainable transport and public health.
As promised to the electorate Lauren stepped down from her Gravesham Borough Council and Kent County Council Councillor seats at the 1 May 2025 KCC elections and as promised this was to save the taxpayers tens of thousands in by-election costs when this should be going to public services after 14 years of austerity.
Until her election as your local MP Lauren was also the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Group at Kent County Council. Lauren stood down from these positions after the election. Lauren did not accept from the end of last summer, up to until she stood down from both Council's any Councillor Allowances, be they Basic or Special Responsibility Allowance, or claimed any expenses, that Lauren would normally have received in these roles despite social media claims to the contrary. This can be verified via both councils.
Since the General Election in July 2024 she was honoured to have been elected as the Labour MP for Gravesham and the first woman in this role.
At Kent County Council Lauren was the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Group at Kent County Council and sat on Children's, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee, Personnel Committee and Scrutiny Committee.
Prior to her election as the MP for Gravesham Lauren worked part-time as a Visiting Scientist/Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Francis Crick Institute working to better understanding of the immune response to Malaria and devoted the rest of her time to her Council duties, and being a Mum.
Outside politics Lauren enjoys the great outdoors often found, when there is time, exploring forests and hills on holiday along with her camera to photograph scenery and then paint them.
Lauren’s values are what are needed for every elected representative, and she feels are missing from national politics at the moment. Values such as social justice, wanting everyone to have the chance to succeed in life no matter their background, ability or need, feeling that our children should have the best start in life with an education system that is fit for purpose. Values of integrity and compassion which should be at the heart of politics ensuring that decisions are taken with the needs of the public at the centre.
Most of all Lauren feels that Gravesham has so much potential that is being held back by the Conservatives and can now only be unlocked by Gravesham having a Labour MP and a Labour Government. Gravesham has a proud history and heritage spanning centuries that needs investment, our health service that has suffered from years of Tory neglect, with families and adults struggling with housing needs where there are too few truly affordable rents or buy options.
Lauren as the Labour MP for Gravesham with a Labour Government is a strong voice in Westminster from Gravesham and is calling for the investment Gravesham needs to unlock its potential.
Accessible and Accountable -
I said during the election campaign that I think that an MP needs to be accessible and accountable. Your local MP should be accessible on a regular basis through regular surgeries in the constituency and contactable through various contact details. Your local MP should also send out regular newsletters and information on their work in Parliament which I pledged to do and newsletters can be found on the Newsletters and Mailing List page!
In meeting this promise so far I have kept residents up to date with my work in Parliament and in Gravesham via social media and on this website raising the issues of local residents to Government and beyond.
I have met the promise of holding Regular MP Surgeries and details of how constituents can book an appointment to join one of these regular surgeries can be found here.
I also said I would set up a local Parliamentary Office as your local MP and promised has been delivered with a new office in the constituency on the High Street. I can be contacted as your local MP for Gravesham via the details here.
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