We've put your questions to Wellingborough's by-election candidates
The parliamentary by-election for the Wellingborough constituency will be held on Thursday 15 February 2024
Last updated 14th Feb 2024
A by-election will be held in Wellingborough on Thursday 15th February following a recall petition in the Northamptonshire constituency.
The petition was prompted by Peter Bone's suspension from the House of Commons for six weeks for breaching the code of conduct for MPs.
Polling stations across the Wellingborough constituency will be open from 07:00 to 22:00 GMT on Thursday, 15th February.
The results of this election are expected in the early hours of Friday 16th February.
We ask the candidates about Crime, the dental crisis and homelessness
Ahead of the election, Greatest Hits Radio has contacted the candidates from the three main parties (Conservative, Liberal Democrats, and Labour) to hear their thoughts on the following topics:
- Crime
- The dental crisis
- Homelessness
The candidates from the three main parties (Conservative, Liberal Democrats, and Labour) were given around two minutes to address the three questions on camera, the others were asked the same questions in written format.
Gen Kitchen - Labour
Speaking about crime Gen said: "Knife crime and anti-social behaviour are amongst the top issues raised with me by local residents, which is why I’ve made it one of the top priorities of my campaign.
"I have met with some incredible charities, schools and organisations that are doing all they can to tackle these issues, by providing youth services, bleed kits and knife amnesty bins.
"Labour will put police back in your town centres and neighbourhoods to make streets safe again, with increased patrols and 13,000 more neighbourhood police & PCSO's on the streets. "
Speaking about dentistry Gen said: "People are finding it impossible to get an NHS dentist when they need one and the consequences for patients are appalling.
"What kind of country have the Conservatives allowed us to become, where the most common reason children go to hospital is to have rotting teeth removed? Where people are forced to pull out their own teeth with pliers?
"Labour’s plan will address the immediate crisis providing 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruiting new dentists to areas most in need.
"We will get schools providing supervised toothbrushing for kids up to the age of 5, to prevent tooth decay."
Speaking about homelessness Gen said: "There is a chronic shortage of decent, secure and affordable housing. While a toxic mix of rising rents, the cost-of-living crisis and a failure to end no-fault evictions is hitting the most vulnerable.
"Labour will ensure everyone has the foundation of a good and secure home and end the bottle neck of millions waiting for affordable housing, by bringing forward the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.
"Labour will act where the Government continues to fail to immediately end ‘no-fault evictions’."
Helen Harrison - Conservative
Speaking about crime Helen said: “Crime is a pressing concern for our community, and I am committed to ensuring the safety and security of Wellingborough and Rushden residents.
"Under Conservative leadership, we've taken significant steps to reduce crime rates. Since 2010, we've cut crime by 55%, and recruited over 20,000 additional police officers nationwide.
"Here in Northamptonshire, we've invested an extra £6.2 million in police funding, totalling £167.3 million for 2023-24, ensuring that Northants police have the resources needed to keep our streets safe."
Speaking about dentistry Helen said: “Dental care is a vital part of our national health system, and under Conservative leadership, we have significantly improved access to this.
"Our government has increased the number of dentists providing NHS care by over 1,300 since 2010, ensuring better access for constituents in Wellingborough and Rushden.
"We've also reformed the NHS dentistry contract, to offer fairer payments for complex dental care, incentivising practices to cater to those with high needs."
Speaking about homelessness Helen said: “Our government has made significant investments to address rough sleeping, including a £2 billion commitment over three years to address the wide range of causes that lead to rough sleeping.
"Our local council, North Northamptonshire Council has received £2,474,053 from the Government as part of the Rough Sleeping Initiative, empowering local authorities, like ours, to deliver tailored services and support for those experiencing homelessness.
"With targeted initiatives we will directly address the root causes of homelessness and provide essential resources to support individuals in need, as we work towards ending rough sleeping for good.”
Ana Savage Gunn - Liberal Democrats
"My background is in policing I walked the beat in Wellingborough and then went onto be a senior officer in Northamptonshire, so I’m uniquely poised to be able to help.
"We need more Police, we’ve got more police than we’ve ever had before but population has increased by 25% and our police officers numbers have not we’ve just slightly more than we had in 2010.
"We should have 400 more police officers than we’ve got now which is 100 extra officers an hour on duty."
Ana speaking about dentistry: "The only thing you can do is lobby the government to pay the dentists.
"When I went to the dentist the other day she explained to me that she gets paid £74 for a filling and that does not even cover the cost of her amalgam, x-ray machine or receptionist."
Ana speaking about homelessness: "There needs to be a co-ordinated approach, we need to increase community density and we need to do a lot more to encourage house building.
"Young professionals can’t get one bedroom apartments or flats and that blocks the ladder right the way to the top.
"Housing is unaffordable here and we need to make it more affordable, so it’s got to be a collaborative approach."
Who are the candidates?
Nick the flying Brick - The Monster Raving Loony Party.
Ana Savage Gunn - Liberal Democrats.
Ben Habib - Reform UK
Helen Harrison - Conservative
Ankit Love Jknpp Jay Mala Post-Mortem - Independent
Gen Kitchen - Labour
Alex Merola - Britain First
Will Morris - Green Party
Andre Pyne-Bailey - Independent
Marion Turner-Hawes - Independent
Kevin Watts - Independent