Who is Gen Kitchen? All about Labour MP who won Wellingborough by-election in second biggest ever Tory-Labour swing

Labour Party MP Gen Kitchen won the by-elections in Wellingborough by defeating the Conservatives. The Labour Party had not won this seat since 2005. Kitchen achieved a swing of 28.5% from the Tories to Labour, the second-highest ever recorded in a by-election.

Ms Kitchen overturned a majority of more than 18,000 voters, leading to predictions that the party can win with an overwhelming majority in the next general elections, reports The Guardian.

Kitchen is set to join the UK House of Commons as one of the youngest MPs in the coming days. After her win, Kitchen said that the people of Wellingborough have "spoken for Britain" and it's a "stunning victory".

“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 continued:

"People here…know our roads aren’t fit to drive on, getting your child a doctor’s appointment can seem impossible, and that they are paying more and getting less. Today they said, enough is enough."

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Gen Kitchen earlier contested elections for the Labour Party in 2019

Gen Kitchen (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Gen Kitchen was born in Northamptonshire in 1995. Both of her parents were in the navy and thought the idea of her becoming an MP was "a bit mad", as per The Independent.

Gen Kitchen graduated in 2016 with a degree in politics and history from Queens Mary University of London and worked in the charity sector for seven years. Her most recent role was to run and organize a children's health charity.

She worked for economic recovery and resident health as the former councilor of Newham, London. Ms Kitchen also stood in the elections as a Labour Party candidate for South Northamptonshire in 2019. She stood second in the elections, behind the Tories.

Ahead of the by-elections, Gen Kitchen revealed in an interview with Labourlist that the Labour Party's victory will be the "domino effect" for the country and especially for the East Midlands.

“I want this to build the momentum. Particularly in Northamptonshire, where we’ve been Conservative for so long at so many different levels.”

As per The Independent, Ms Kitchen is also an ardent fan of Taylor Swift and is looking forward to attending her Eras tour in May.

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Gen Kitchen became Northamptonshire constituency’s first Labour MP since 2005

Gen Kitchen won the by-elections with 13,844 votes, surpassing the Conservative Party's candidate Helen Harrison with 7,408 votes. The results mark the largest swing from the Tories to the Labours since 1994 and the second largest since World War II, with an overturn of more than 18,000 votes in Wellingborough.

It also marked the Labour's fifth by-election gain over the Tories in this parliament. The Labour Party also won a Tory seat in Kingswood, leading to a major blow for the Tories. The Conservative Party has lost 10 by-elections in a single parliament now, more than any government since the 1960s, per The Guardian.

With a turnout of 38.1% in Wellingborough and 37.1% in Kingswood, the Labour's victory has bolstered predictions about the party's sweeping win in the next general elections.

Ms Kitchen's seat in Wellingborough was previously held by ex-Tory MP Peter Bone. Bone had won the seat at the Northamptonshire constituency in every general election from 2005 to 2019. In 2019, he won with a majority of 18,540.

However, Mr Bone was suspended for s*xual misconduct before the elections. The Tories brought in Bone's girlfriend, Helen Harrison as the Conservative's candidate, sparking off a controversy. As per The Guardian, high-profile Tory MPs remained absent from the constituency and did not endorse Harrison.

Per The Independent, Ms Harrison's appointment as the Tory candidate may have helped Gen Kitchen achieve an overwhelming victory.