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'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.
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.
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
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.
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – East Midlands". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
^"The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – East Midlands | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies (Daventry, Wellingborough and Northampton) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/604, retrieved 26 February 2023
^"The Northamptonshire (Structural Changes) Order 2020".
^"The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 1 East Midlands.
^Unemployment claimants by constituency The Guardian
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "W" (part 2)
^Allegretti, Aubrey (17 October 2023). "Peter Bone loses Tory whip after bullying and harassment finding". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
^"Wellingborough and Rushden - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
^"Wellingborough Parliamentary by-election". BBC News. 16 February 2024..
^"Wellingborough Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^ ab"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ abWellingborough BBC News | Election 2010
^"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election 2015:Wellingborough Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
^Gosling, Francesca. "Labour's candidate for Wellingborough and Rushden Richard Garvie suspended after conviction for fraud". Nothampton Chronicle & Echo.
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ abcdeCraig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
Sources
A history of Britain's parliamentary constituencies / edited by Jacques A. Arnold. The constituencies of the county of Northamptonshire..
External links
Wellingborough UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
Wellingborough UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
Wellingborough and Rushden UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK