Labour wins Wellingborough seat in by-election

Labour has taken the Wellingborough seat in a parliamentary by-election triggered by a recall petition for Conservative MP Peter Bone.

The petition was prompted by Mr Bone's suspension from the House of Commons for six weeks for breaching the code of conduct for MPs.

Labour's Gen Kitchen overturned the Conservatives' 18,540 majority in 2019 by winning with a majority of 6,436.

Conservative candidate Helen Harrison came second with Reform UK, third.

The Conservatives had held the seat since 2005.

In her victory speech, Ms Kitchen, who cut short her honeymoon to campaign in the by-election, said: "I am honoured local people have placed their trust in me and the Labour Party under [Sir] Keir Starmer.

"But I also know from the thousands of conversations I have had during this campaign, how desperately people want change and a fresh start for our country.

"The people of Wellingborough have spoken for Britain, this is a stunning victory for the Labour Party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street."

She told the BBC her first priority was to focus on the main issues mentioned at the doorstep.

People, she said, wanted an urgent care centre and better access to dental and GP services.

Ms Harrison, the Tory candidate and partner of Mr Bone, told the BBC she did not "blame the Prime Minister for this loss".

As she left the hall, Ms Harrison told journalists "we made a really good effort".

"We ran a brilliant campaign, a wholehearted campaign," she said, vowing to stand again in the future. "We spoke to thousands of people"

The swing from the Conservatives to Labour in Wellingborough was 28.5% - the second largest swing from Tory to Labour at a by-election since World War Two.

The Reform party finished third with 13% of the vote, its best performance at a by-election. Candidate and deputy leader of the party Ben Habib said the result was "remarkable".

"People are absolutely fed up with the manner in which this country is being governed," he said.

The Liberal Democrats, who came third in 2019, received just 4.7% of the vote and lost their £500 deposit.

Laura Coffey, BBC Political Reporter for Northamptonshire

Wellingborough hasn't had a Labour MP since they lost the seat in 2005 to Peter Bone.

Over the last 19 years the former Conservative MP had grown his majority to over 18,500. It shows this constituency was ready for change.

Labour gave everything to this campaign and it has paid off.

The issues that have played out here are similar to those across the country - the cost of living, the NHS and crime.

One issue that kept coming up was town centre regeneration for both Wellingborough and Rushden.

But the new MP may only have months or weeks to get her head around what matters to people here before the general election.

Elsewhere, Labour overturned a Conservative majority of more than 11,000 to win the Kingswood by-election in South Gloucestershire with a majority of more than 2,000.

Conservatives came second, with Reform beating the Green Party to the spot for third place.

Sir Keir Starmer said: "By winning in these Tory strongholds, we can confidently say that Labour is back in the service of working people and we will work tirelessly to deliver for them.

"The Tories have failed. Rishi's recession proves that. That's why we've seen so many former Conservative voters switching directly to this changed Labour Party."

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