Labour win the Wellingborough byelection
Gen Kitchen is the new MP for Wellingborough and Rushden after a landslide victory
Labour’s Gen Kitchen has won the Wellingborough and Rushden byelection, beating the Conservatives into second place.
The party won a decisive victory - overturning former MP Peter Bone’s 18,500 victory, with Gen Kitchen winning 46 per cent of the vote, with 13,844 constituents giving her their votes.
She is the first Labour MP to win in the county since Andy Sawford’s win in Corby in 2012.
In her victory speech she said voters had told the Tory party that ‘enough is enough’ and her win had sent a message to Downing Street. She said the first thing she would be doing was ‘having a large glass of wine’.
Conservative Helen Harrison, who is the partner of former MP Peter Bone, gained 7,408 votes.
Third place went to Reform UK who got 13 per cent with 3,919 votes. The turnout was relatively low at just over 38 percent, with 30,145 votes cast.
Before Thursday, it had been thought the vote could be tight, but the win was emphatic.
Labour has put a significant effort into the campaign, setting up an office in Wellingborough before Peter Bone’s recall petition had even been agreed. The constituency has seen a roll call of shadow ministers to the town and volunteers and party members have been mobilised to get out on the doorsteps - a move which has delivered them a decisive victory.
Former MP Bone had been removed from parliament after the recall, which was triggered after he was suspended from Westminster after being found to have bullied a former male staffer.
The Labour win, will now send a seismic ripple through the county ahead of the impending general election. The county has six Conservative MPs who have been dominant for more than a decade and Wellingborough had been considered one of the strongest seats.
The nation’s media was at the election count, with Harrison almost hounded out of the election hall in the glare of flashbulbs. She did say she will stand again in the general election. Her partner did not attend the count as had been expected.
Reform’s result in Wellingborough will give them a boost. Party Leader Richard Tice was at the count and his supporters were jubilant.
There were eleven candidates in total.
The full results are:
Labour also won the Kingswood byelection.
Great job getting the news out so early! Happy result as well.
Thanks for this Sarah, you must be tired. Very good win for Labour, Gen sounds like a great MP. We just need a General Election as soon as possible. I feel hope returning.