Voters in the Northamptonshire town of Wellingborough, England are expected to throw the incumbent Conservatives out. But who will replace them?
The Labour candidate, Gen Kitchen, is the favourite to win, after the by-election was triggered when Parliament upheld allegations of bullying, physical assault, and sexual misconduct against long-time Tory MP Peter Bone—allegations which he denies.
Labour has put a lot into Kitchen’s campaign, including a number of high-profile visits to the constituency, whereas Conservative officials have complained about “tumbleweed” rolling through their campaign.
However, the chances of Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, have improved in recent weeks too. Its candidate, businessman and former MEP Ben Habib, told The European Conservative:
Labour has been canvassing in Wellingborough for months and has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at their effort. But Reform UK has fought a super campaign for an insurgent party.
During this campaign, Habib’s odds of winning have improved from a far-off third favourite with of 66/1 to a much improved second favourite of 8/1. Not that he is under any illusions about the size of the task before him. To win in England’s first-past-the-post electoral system—where voters cast a vote for a single candidate and the one with the most votes wins—is “never easy,” according to Habib. But he added that his party “will be in a very good position” should voters who are fed up with both Labour and the Conservatives turn out to vote for something different.
There are thousands of voters disenchanted with the two main parties. Both parties stand for borrow, tax and spend. Both parties are for open borders and net zero. Many recognise this and are angry.
We need these people coming out to vote rather than voicing their disenchantment by staying at home.
Writing for this publication on the Wellingborough by-election earlier this week, Frank Haviland noted that the result “could prove something of a bellwether for the national electoral picture.” Voting will take place throughout the day, with results set to be announced early on Friday morning.
British news reports last week were largely focussed on Rochdale, in the North West of England, where the Labour Party reluctantly stopped supporting parliamentary candidate Azhar Ali over his antisemitic comments. But attention will now turn to Wellingborough, where voters are expected to reject the Conservatives decisively.
