Genevieve Victoria Kitchen (born 5 May 1995) is a British politician who has served as Assistant Government Whip since 2024. She is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wellingborough and Rushden (formerly named Wellingborough) since the 2024 Wellingborough by-election. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of Newham London Borough Council in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

from 2018 to 2022.

Early life and education

Genevieve Kitchen was born on 5 May 1995, the daughter of two Royal Navy veterans. She grew up in Northamptonshire, and attended

Caroline Chisholm School Caroline Chisholm School is a mixed all-through school with academy status, in Wootton, south Northampton, England. It is named after Caroline Chisholm, a 19th-century social reformer. The principal is David James. The school was built in ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, John Hellins Primary School in Towcester, and Kingsbrook Secondary School (now Elizabeth Woodville School) in Deanshanger. She studied history and politics at Queen Mary University of London, and graduated in 2016. Kitchen has been a fundraiser in the charity sector, working with organisations including The Salvation Army, Sarcoma UK, a children's hospice and a children's health charity. From 2018 to 2022, she was a councillor in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

representing the ward of Boleyn.

Parliamentary career

In the 2019 general election, Kitchen stood for Labour in South Northamptonshire, finishing in second place with 20.9 per cent of the vote behind Andrea Leadsom, the incumbent Conservative MP and

business secretary The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

. In November 2023, she was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Wellingborough. When the

recall petition A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of offi ...

to remove Peter Bone was successful, she launched her campaign in the 2024 Wellingborough by-election. She was endorsed by the former Conservative leader of the local council. Kitchen was elected as MP for Wellingborough, winning with 45.9 per cent of the vote and a majority of 6,436. She was re-elected in the renamed constituency of Wellingborough and Rushden in the 2024 general election.

Personal life

Kitchen married her husband Joe in October 2023. She cut short her honeymoon in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

to campaign in the 2024 Wellingborough by-election.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchen, Gen 1995 births Living people Labour Party (UK) councillors Politicians from Northamptonshire 21st-century British women politicians Women councillors in England Councillors in the London Borough of Newham UK MPs 2024–present Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Charity fundraisers (people) UK MPs 2019–2024