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 ...
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
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{{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