Woman who'll fight Wellingborough constituency for Labour outlines pledges – as she's backed by former Conservative council leader

Gen Kitchen, Labour’s chosen candidate for a potential by-election in Wellingborough, has unveiled her promises to the constituency if MP Peter Bone is unseated following a recall petition.

The petition has been ongoing since November 8 following the Conservative MP’s suspension from Parliament, and Labour say they have fresh ideas for the Wellingborough constituency, in the event of a vote in the new year.

Key themes of Gen’s pledged include improving the town centre, fixing potholes, and tackling knife crime. She said: “I always wanted to represent the community that I grew up in, I just didn’t think it would be so soon.

“People want change, we’ve been listening to what they’re saying.

“One of the reasons I wanted to stand in Northamptonshire and Wellingborough was to make sure the towns have a good representative, but also that we’re standing on Labour values.”

An event at the Victoria Centre on Thursday (December 15) saw Gen outline her vision and values, hoping to give people in Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Finedon, Irchester, and Irthlingborough a new option in the voting booth.

Those policies and ideas have drawn Independent councillor Martin Griffiths, former leader of now-disbanded Borough Council of Wellingborough, to give his support to Gen’s campaign, calling her ‘a real breath of fresh air.’

He said: “Having had a long chat with Gen, we agreed on so many local issues and anyone who witnessed how the former Borough Council of Wellingborough conducted business under my leadership will know that I often put party politics behind what was in the best for our residents and businesses.

"This is the polar opposite to the direction being taken by the North Northamptonshire unitary authority in its early years.“Gen is a real breath of fresh air.

“She is young, dynamic, and caring, and following our meeting I had no hesitation in endorsing her.

"I will remain an independent councillor and am looking to encourage and mentor others to stand for election in 2025.”

Gen was selected as the prospective Labour candidate in November after the incumbent MP for Wellingborough, Peter Bone, was found to have engaged in bullying and sexual misconduct. He currently sits as an independent MP during a parliamentary suspension. The suspension has resulted in a recall petition in the constituency, which will then trigger a by-election if enough signatures are collected.

Gen’s interest in politics began during the 2005 election, where her mother talked her through the process, which coincidentally fell on her birthday of May 5. Since then Gen has been immersed in the political sphere, representing Northamptonshire County at the Commonwealth Youth Summit, and standing against Andrea Leadsom for the South Northamptonshire seat in the 2019 general election.

Gen has also spent time as a senior councillor in London, and working for national charities as a fundraising manager.

Wellingborough has been a safe Conservative seat since 2005, but there is an eagerness in Gen’s campaign to reach people of all opinions and outlooks.

Gen said: "It’s a national Labour mission to appeal to 2019 switchers, but locally here it’s been about listening, first and foremost.

“One of the things we’ve been really keen to do is make sure that people realise the Labour party is taking Wellingborough seriously.

“We’ve got to get the pledges right, we’ve got to get the priorities right, and that comes from listening and door-knocking, we’ve got to make sure constituents realise we’re taking it as seriously as it should be taken.

“It’s also giving a vision of hope and of something different, when we've been speaking to a lot of life-long Conservative voters they’re just fed up, they feel homeless.”

Her pledges cover a range of issues that have been prevalent in the constituency in recent years, with reducing knife crime and anti-social behaviour being a key component.

On this, Gen added: “It’s something that I’ve tackled before.

“When we’ve been going out in Queensway doing door-knocking it’s come up so often. When I went to Weavers with Bridget Phillipson, the head there is amazing, and was talking about the fact that you can keep kids safe in schools, but it’s that bit between being in school and getting home.

“We want to make sure that kids really understand the consequences of carrying and using knives, but also that there are programs to make sure that children are busy between getting to school and going home, and making sure that there’s a police presence for those that maybe aren’t involved in knife crime to still feel reassured not to carry them.”

Town centre regeneration is also a key policy of Gen’s campaign, following a visit from shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves MP this week. There, local traders had the opportunity to express their concerns about the state of Wellingborough’s High Street, the troubles they face, and how being a small business owner has changed over the last few years. Labour’s planned ‘Visit Wellingborough Taskforce’ has the hope of ‘getting local businesses in, getting local hospitality sectors in, and working with chamber of commerce.’

Gen said: "We should be rivalling the Cotswolds, if not better. We’ve got some beautiful towns and High Streets, and we’re only 50 minutes from London.

"We want to give people a little bit more pride in the town and make people want to spend their leisure time here.”

The current ongoing recall petition will conclude on December 19, with results expected soon after.