Wellingborough and Rushden (UK Parliament constituency)

Wellingborough and Rushden is a constituency in Northamptonshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The seat is currently held by Labour MP Gen Kitchen, after the recall of MP Peter Bone in December 2023 which resulted in a by-election in February 2024.

Wellingborough and Rushden
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundaries since 2024
Boundary of Wellingborough and Rushden in the East Midlands
County	Northamptonshire
Electorate	76,669 (2023)[1]
Major settlements	Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Irchester and Finedon
Current constituency
Created	1918 (as Wellingborough)
Member of Parliament	Gen Kitchen (Labour)
Created from	East Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire

Prior to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the constituency was known as Wellingborough up until the 2024 general election.^[2]

History

This seat was created under the Representation of the People Act 1918.

Political history

Wellingborough's earliest years were left-leaning. Between 1964 and 2005, the seat kept on producing examples of bellwether results and rarely showed itself to be safe for more than one government term. Departing from this are two years where the result has defied the most common result nationwide, by leaning towards the Conservative Party, in 1974 (twice). Since 2010 it became a safe seat for the Conservatives until the 2024 by-election.

In the 2016 EU referendum, Wellingborough voted 62.4% leave (25,679 votes) to 37.6% remain (15,462 votes)^[3]

Prominent frontbenchers

Sir Geoffrey Shakespeare was a Lloyd-Georgist National Liberal who served in junior ministerial roles through much of the Second World War, including briefly as the Secretary for Overseas Trade in 1940.

Boundaries

Historic (Wellingborough)

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1918–1950: The Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Finedon, Irthlingborough, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, the Rural District of Wellingborough, and in the Rural District of Thrapston the parishes of Chelveston cum Caldecott, Hargrave, and Stanwick.

1950–1974: The Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Irthlingborough, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, the Rural District of Wellingborough, and in the Rural District of Oundle and Thrapston the civil parishes of Chelveston cum Caldecott and Hargrave.

1974–1983: The Borough of Higham Ferrers, the Urban Districts of Irthlingborough, Oundle, Raunds, Rushden, and Wellingborough, and the Rural Districts of Oundle and Thrapston, and Wellingborough.^[4]

1983–2010: The Borough of Wellingborough, and the District of East Northamptonshire wards of Higham Ferrers, Rushden East, Rushden North, Rushden South, and Rushden West.

2010–2021: The Borough of Wellingborough wards of Brickhill, Castle, Croyland, Finedon, Great Doddington and Wilby, Hemmingwell, Irchester, North, Queensway, Redwell East, Redwell West, South, Swanspool, and Wollaston, and the District of East Northamptonshire wards of Higham Ferrers, Rushden East, Rushden North, Rushden South, and Rushden West.

2021–2024: With effect from 1 April 2021, the Borough of Wellingborough and the District of East Northamptonshire were abolished and absorbed into the new unitary authority of North Northamptonshire.^[5] From that date, the constituency comprised the District of North Northamptonshire wards of Brickhill and Queensway, Croyland and Swanspool; Earls Barton (part), Finedon, Hatton Park, Higham Ferrers, Irchester, Irthlingborough, Rushden Pemberton West and Rushden South.

Current (Wellingborough and Rushden)

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the composition of the constituency is as follows (as they existed on 1 April 2021):

• The District of North Northamptonshire wards of: Brickhill and Queensway; Croyland and Swanspool; Finedon; Hatton Park; Higham Ferrers; Irchester (polling districts WIA and WIB); Irthlingborough (polling districts SD and SF); Rushden Pemberton West; Rushden South.^[6]

The parts of the Earls Barton ward were transferred to Daventry. In addition, parts of the Irchester ward were transferred to South Northamptonshire, whilst the parts of the Irthlingborough ward were transferred in from Corby.

The constituency is named after the towns of Wellingborough and Rushden. It also includes the small town of Higham Ferrers, which was itself a borough constituency also named Higham Ferrers until its abolition as one of the rotten boroughs in 1832.

Constituency profile

Strengths in local industries here or in neighbouring Northampton and Kettering include in printing, logistics and distribution, automotive (assembly and design), construction, food processing and advanced engineering sectors. Despite this, a decline in the traditional local industries such as quarrying, furniture making and textiles pushes workless claimants who were registered jobseekers in November 2012 higher than the national (and regional) average of 3.8%, at 4.5% of the population based on a statistical compilation by The Guardian.^[7]

Members of Parliament

East Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire prior to 1918

Election		Member[8]	Party
	1918	Walter Smith	Labour
	1922	Geoffrey Shakespeare	National Liberal
	1923	William Cove	Labour
	1929	George Dallas	Labour
	1931	Archibald James	Conservative
	1945	George Lindgren	Labour
	1959	Michael Hamilton	Conservative
	1964	Harry Howarth	Labour
	1969 by-election	Peter Fry	Conservative
	1997	Paul Stinchcombe	Labour
	2005	Peter Bone	Conservative
	2023		Independent[9]
	2024 by-election	Gen Kitchen	Labour
Renamed as Wellingborough and Rushden
	2024	Gen Kitchen	Labour

Elections

Wellingborough & Rushden election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Wellingborough and Rushden^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gen Kitchen	17,734	40.3	+12.0
	Conservative	David Goss	12,248	27.8	−34.6
	Reform UK	Ben Habib	9,456	21.5	N/A
	Green	Paul Mannion	2,704	6.1	+3.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Townsend	1,570	3.6	−3.1
	SDP	Jeremy Brittin	273	0.6	N/A
Majority			5,486	12.5	New
Turnout			43,985	56.9	4.7
Registered electors			77,559
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	23.3

2024 Wellingborough by-election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gen Kitchen	13,844	45.9	+19.4
	Conservative	Helen Harrison	7,408	24.6	−37.6
	Reform UK	Ben Habib	3,919	13.0	New
	Liberal Democrats	Ana Gunn	1,422	4.7	−3.2
	Independent	Marion Turner-Hawes	1,115	3.7	New
	Green	Will Morris	1,020	3.4	−0.1
	Independent	Kevin Watts	533	1.8	New
	Britain First	Alex Merola	477	1.6	New
	Monster Raving Loony	Nick the Flying Brick	217	0.7	New
	Independent	Andre Pyne-Bailey	172	0.6	New
	Independent	Ankit Post-Mortem	18	0.1	New
Majority			6,436	21.3	N/A
Turnout			30,145	38.0	−26.3
Registered electors			79,376
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+28.5

Elections in the 2010s

2019 general election: Wellingborough^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Bone	32,277	62.2	+4.8
	Labour	Andrea Watts	13,737	26.5	–7.5
	Liberal Democrats	Suzanna Austin	4,078	7.9	+4.6
	Green	Marion Turner-Hawes	1,821	3.5	+1.7
Majority			18,540	35.7	+12.3
Turnout			51,913	64.3	–2.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.15

2017 general election: Wellingborough^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Bone	30,579	57.4	+5.3
	Labour	Andrea Watts	18,119	34.0	+14.5
	UKIP	Alan Shipham	1,804	3.4	–16.2
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Nelson	1,782	3.3	–1.1
	Green	Jonathan Hornett	956	1.8	–2.6
Majority			12,460	23.4	–9.1
Turnout			53,240	67.2	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	–4.55

2015 general election: Wellingborough^[15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Bone	26,265	52.1	+3.9
	UKIP	Jonathan Munday[17]	9,868	19.6	+16.4
	Labour	Richard Garvie1	9,839	19.5	–5.9
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Nelson	2,240	4.4	–12.7
	Green	Marion-Turner-Hawes	2,218	4.4	+3.5
Majority			16,397	32.5	+9.7
Turnout			50,430	65.4	–1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	–6.3

¹: After nominations were closed, Garvie was suspended from the Labour Party after he was convicted of fraud after buying £900 of train tickets with a closed bank account.^[18] He still appeared on ballot papers as Labour.

2010 general election: Wellingborough^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Bone	24,918	48.2	+5.5
	Labour	Jayne Buckland	13,131	25.4	–16.0
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Barron	8,848	17.1	+5.6
	UKIP	Adrian Haynes	1,636	3.2	+0.9
	BNP	Rob Walker	1,596	3.1	New
	English Democrat	Terry Spencer	530	1.0	New
	Green	Jonathan Hornett	480	0.9	New
	TUSC	Paul Crofts	249	0.5	New
	Independent	Gary Donaldson	240	0.5	New
	Independent	Marcus Lavin	33	0.1	New
Majority			11,787	22.8	+21.5
Turnout			51,661	67.2	+1.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.8

Elections in the 2000s

2005 general election: Wellingborough^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Bone	22,674	42.8	+0.6
	Labour	Paul Stinchcombe	21,987	41.5	–5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Church	6,147	11.6	+2.3
	UKIP	James Wrench	1,214	2.3	+0.6
	Veritas	Nicholas Alex	749	1.4	New
	Socialist Labour	Andy Dickson	234	0.4	New
Majority			687	1.3	N/A
Turnout			53,005	66.5	+2.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+2.9

2001 general election: Wellingborough^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Stinchcombe	23,867	46.8	+2.6
	Conservative	Peter Bone	21,512	42.2	–1.6
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Gaskell	4,763	9.3	–0.1
	UKIP	Tony Ellwood	864	1.7	−0.4
Majority			2,355	4.6	+4.2
Turnout			51,006	64.1	–10.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections in the 1990s

1997 general election: Wellingborough^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Stinchcombe	24,854	44.2	+10.3
	Conservative	Peter Fry	24,667	43.8	–9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Smith	5,279	9.4	–3.4
	UKIP	Tony Ellwood	1,192	2.1	New
	Natural Law	Annie Lorys	297	0.5	New
Majority			187	0.4	N/A
Turnout			56,289	74.8	–7.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.9

1992 general election: Wellingborough^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	32,302	53.4	+0.7
	Labour	Phil Sawford	20,486	33.9	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Trevor	7,714	12.8	–7.3
Majority			11,816	19.5	–6.0
Turnout			60,502	81.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	–3.0

Elections in the 1980s

1987 general election: Wellingborough^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	29,038	52.7	+3.8
	Labour	James Currie	14,968	27.2	+1.2
	Liberal	Leslie Stringer	11,047	20.1	–4.6
Majority			14,070	25.5	+2.6
Turnout			55,053
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.3

1983 general election: Wellingborough^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	25,715	48.9	–3.4
	Labour	John H. Mann	13,659	26.0	–8.9
	Liberal	Leslie Stringer	12,994	24.7	+12.9
	Independent	D.M.P. Garnett	228	0.4	+0.1
Majority			12,056	22.9	+5.5
Turnout			52,596
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.8

Elections in the 1970s

1979 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	37,812	52.3	+9.5
	Labour	D.A. Forwood	25,278	34.9	–5.3
	Liberal	L.E. Stringer	8,506	11.8	–5.2
	National Front	S.F. Wright	529	0.7	New
	Independent	D.M.P. Garnett	228	0.3	New
Majority			12,534	17.4	+14.8
Turnout			72,353	81.25	+1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.4

October 1974 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	29,078	42.8	+2.3
	Labour	John H. Mann	27,320	40.2	+2.9
	Liberal	Penelope Jessel	11,500	17.0	–3.9
Majority			1,758	2.6	–0.6
Turnout			67,898	79.61	–5.39
	Conservative hold		Swing	–0.3

February 1974 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	29,099	40.5	–11.7
	Labour	John H. Mann	26,829	37.3	–10.5
	Liberal	Penelope Jessel	15,049	20.9	New
	Ind. Conservative	D.T. James	897	1.2	New
Majority			2,720	3.2	–1.3
Turnout			71,874	85.00	–1.34
	Conservative hold		Swing	–0.6

1970 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	27,459	52.2	+4.6
	Labour	John H. Mann	25,107	47.8	–4.6
Majority			2,352	4.4	N/A
Turnout			52,566	81.34	–5.12
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.6

Elections in the 1960s

1969 Wellingborough by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Fry	22,548	54.4	+6.8
	Labour	John H. Mann	16,499	39.8	–7.8
	Independent	M.P. Coney	2,421	5.8	New
Majority			6,049	14.6	N/A
Turnout			41,468
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+7.3

1966 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Howarth	24,705	52.4	+10.1
	Conservative	John Lawson Leatham	22,472	47.6	+5.4
Majority			2,233	4.8	+4.7
Turnout			54,566	86.46	–0.6
	Labour hold		Swing

1964 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Howarth	19,592	42.26	–7.17
	Conservative	Michael Hamilton	19,545	42.16	–8.51
	Liberal	Philip Arthur John Pettit	7,227	15.59	New
Majority			47	0.10	N/A
Turnout			46,364	87.11
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

1959 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Hamilton	22,964	50.67	+1.61
	Labour	George Lindgren	22,358	49.33	–1.61
Majority			606	1.34	N/A
Turnout			45,322	86.72
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+1.61

1955 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Lindgren	22,745	51.04	–1.35
	Conservative	Arthur Jones	21,819	48.96	+1.35
Majority			926	2.08
Turnout			44,564	86.01
	Labour hold		Swing	–1.35

1951 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Lindgren	24,113	52.39	+5.29
	Conservative	F Richard Parsons	21,912	47.61	+19.15
Majority			2,201	4.78
Turnout			46,025	88.38
	Labour hold		Swing

1950 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Lindgren	21,640	47.10	–10.61
	Conservative	Jaspar Carlisle Sayer	13,075	28.46	–13.83
	Liberal	Edwin Malindine	11,227	24.44	New
Majority			8,565	18.64
Turnout			45,942	89.51
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

1945 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Lindgren	22,416	57.71
	Conservative	Archibald James	16,426	42.29
Majority			5,990	15.42	N/A
Turnout			38,842	74.39
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

1935 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald James	18,085	50.52
	Labour	George Dallas	17,713	49.48
Majority			372	1.04
Turnout			35,798	77.26
	Conservative hold		Swing

1931 general election: Wellingborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archibald James	22,127	61.02
	Labour	George Dallas	14,137	38.98
Majority			7,990	22.04	N/A
Turnout			36,264	81.24
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1920s

G. Dallas

1929 general election: Wellingborough ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Dallas	15,300	42.2	+2.2
	Liberal	Richard Pattinson Winfrey	11,255	31.0	+2.2
	Unionist	Archibald James	9,703	26.8	–4.4
Majority			4,045	11.2	+2.4
Turnout			36,258	83.3	–0.7
Registered electors			43,548
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.0

1924 general election: Wellingborough ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Cove	11,381	40.0	−2.1
	Unionist	Ralph A Raphael	8,900	31.2	+5.8
	Liberal	Humphrey Mackworth Paul	8,223	28.8	–3.7
Majority			2,481	8.8	–0.8
Turnout			28,504	84.0	+4.1
Registered electors			33,934
	Labour hold		Swing	–4.0

1923 general election: Wellingborough ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Cove	11,175	42.1	–0.3
	Liberal	Geoffrey Shakespeare	8,638	32.5	–25.1
	Unionist	Robert Massy-Dawson Sanders	6,747	25.4	New
Majority			2,537	9.6	N/A
Turnout			26,560	79.9	+0.5
Registered electors			33,226
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+12.4

1922 general election: Wellingborough ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Geoffrey Shakespeare	14,995	57.6	+10.1
	Labour	Walter Smith	11,057	42.4	–8.1
Majority			3,938	15.2	N/A
Turnout			26,052	79.4	+17.5
Registered electors			32,820
	National Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

1918 general election: Wellingborough^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Smith	10,290	52.5
C	Liberal	Milner Gray	9,313	47.5
Majority			977	5.0
Turnout			19,603	61.9
Registered electors			31,669
	Labour win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Northamptonshire