Meet the candidates hoping to succeed Peter Bone as MP for Wellingborough and Rushden

As Peter Bone packs up his office and prepares for a life away from the cut and thrust of politics, there are three people who would like to take his place in the House of Commons.

The Labour Party had already hit the campaign trail mid-recall petition, piling resources into regaining the Wellingborough seat they lost in 2005.

Selecting their candidate Gen Kitchen on November 11, the party, that came second to Mr Bone in five consecutive elections, is looking to claw back 18,540 votes from the Tories.

In 2005, sitting Labour MP Paul Stinchcombe was inched from his seat - losing by just 687 votes. By the 2010 general election, the majority had rocketed to 18,540 – by 2019 Mr Bone gained 62 per cent of the vote.

So who are the people who will be battling it out?

Labour’s Gen Kitchen has been busy working from her Sheep Street office Labour supporters and activists have been pounding the pavements in a bid to get her message across.

Her five main pledges promise to put more money back in people’s pockets, help ‘fix’ the NHS, sort the potholes, ‘bang the drum’ for town centres and work to get knives off the streets.

Several high-profile Labour MPs have already visited the area including Rachel Reeves, Ed Milliband, Annelise Dodds, and Jon Ashworth.

Ms Kitchen has managed to woo the former Conservative leader of Wellingborough Borough Council, Martin Griffiths – now an independent unitary councillor – who has backed the Labour candidate.

Liberal Democrat candidate Ana Savage Gunn,a former police inspector, wanted to stand to voice her anger at ‘Conservative sleaze and failure in Northamptonshire’. She has promised a ‘fresh start, new ideas, and a path to restore pride in the area’.

Ms Savage Gunn works at a care home and is a trustee of Northamptonshire Carers, located in Wellingborough.

The Green Party has revealed Will Morris from Bozeat as their candidate for the by-election. The dad of two believes the constituency needs an MP ‘who knows and cares about local issues’.

Reform UK has confirmed to this paper they will be fighting the Wellingborough by-election – but the candidate has yet to be selected. Reform UK leader Richard Tice told Daily Express political editor David Maddox Reform “stand a chance of victory”.

With Reform UK in the fray and the theoretical possibility that Mr Bone could stand as an independent, the Conservative Party may find it difficult to maintain the 18,540 majority from their 2019 victory.

But as yet no Conservative candidates have put themselves forward to be selected, a vote will be held by Wellingborough Conservative Association.