Medway Constituency: Located in north Kent alongside the River Medway estuary with the River Thames on its north border. Based on the Medway Towns of Chatham, Rochester and Strood and the villages of Strood Rural and the Hoo Peninsula.

The Medway Towns, covered in the main by some two and half parliamentary constituencies, is a thriving city in all but name. Medway or Medway Towns are the collective names for the single conurbation, the largest conurbation in south east England outside London that compasses the towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham and their surrounding areas. Additionally there are several rural settlements on the Hoo Peninsula and on the west bank of the Medway valley.

The area has a wide range of historic and natural assets including the castles at Rochester-upon-Medway, Upnor and Cooling, Rochester Cathedral and city centre, the Chatham Historic Dockyard, Fort Amherst, the Royal Engineers' Museum and a variety of urban and rural conservation areas. The area's attractive countryside includes part of North Kent Marshes and River Medway Estuary (which have the highest international nature conservation designations) and part of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Chatham town centre is an important sub-regional shopping centre and a recent major environmental scheme has helped this "city" centre compete more vigorously with its rivals. Medway is also the largest industrial centre in Kent, with major industrial installations of dockyards, ports, power stations and industrial areas. Since the closure of the Royal Naval Dockyard the towns' employment base has broadened, particularly on the high quality business parks at Chatham Maritime and Gillingham. The University of Greenwich has established a new campus at Chatham Maritime, while the University of Kent has opened a college in Chatham's Historic Dockyard and has formed a partnership with Mid-Kent College to establish the University of Kent at Medway. A future University of Medway is only just around the corner.

The Regional Development Agency (SEEDA) has recognised the potential of Medway and its population, seeing the future prosperity of the towns key to the regeneration of the Thames Gateway and North Kent region.