Kettering is a constituency in Northamptonshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Rosie Wrighting of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

Kettering is a constituency in Northamptonshire based around the large town of Kettering, which has a population of around 67,000. The other towns in the constituency are Desborough, Burton Latimer and Rothwell. Kettering and the smaller towns have an industrial history, particularly in iron mining and shoemaking. The constituency has average levels of wealth; there is some deprivation in the centre of Kettering whilst the rest of the constituency is generally affluent, particularly so in Kettering's eastern suburbs. House prices across the constituency are similar to the rest of the East Midlands and lower than the national average.

In general, residents of the constituency have low levels of education but average rates of income and professional employment. White people made up 90% of the population at the 2021 census.

Members of Parliament

The current Member of Parliament is Rosie Wrighting of the Labour Party. She was elected in 2024 when she defeated the sitting Conservative MP, Philip Hollobone, in an election which nationally saw a landslide win for the Labour Party. Prior to Wrighting's victory, Kettering had been a predominantly safe Conservative seat since the removal of Corby in 1983, as Labour had only won it in their two landslides in 1997 and 2001, by tight margins of just 189 and 665 votes (0.3 and 1.2 percent of the vote) respectively. Her majority was by far the largest for Labour since before Corby was removed from the seat.

{| class="wikitable"

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!colspan="2"|Election!!Member!!Party

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| 1918 || Alfred Waterson || Co-operative

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| 1922 || Owen Parker || Conservative

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| 1923 || Samuel Perry || Labour Co-operative

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| 1924 || Mervyn Manningham-Buller || Conservative

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| 1929 || Samuel Perry || Labour Co-operative

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| 1931 || John Eastwood || Conservative

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| 1940 by-election || John Profumo || Conservative

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| 1945 || Gilbert Mitchison || Labour

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| 1964 || Geoffrey de Freitas || Labour

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| 1979 || Bill Homewood || Labour

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| 1983 || Roger Freeman || Conservative

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| 1997 || Phil Sawford || Labour

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| 2005 || Philip Hollobone || Conservative

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| 2024 || Rosie Wrighting || Labour

|}

;Mid Northamptonshire Constituency (1885–1918)

Prior to boundary changes in 1918, at least the majority of modern-day Kettering Constituency lay within the Mid Northamptonshire constituency.

;North Northamptonshire Constituency (1832–1885)

Prior to boundary changes in 1885, at least the majority of modern-day Kettering Constituency lay within the North Northamptonshire constituency, which elected two members to Parliament.

Elections

thumb|centre|upright=2.5|Kettering election results 1983-2024

Elections in the 2020s

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

Note: The boundary changes to the seat for the 1983 election meant that this seat would have been won by the Conservatives in 1979, as parts of the seat were moved into the newly created seat of Corby which was notionally Labour on the new boundaries and thus saw William Homewood attempt (albeit unsuccessfully) to seek re-election there.

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

The British Council commissioned a short film on the 1945 general election which portrays the contest in the Kettering constituency.

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

See also

  • 1940 Kettering by-election
  • List of parliamentary constituencies in Northamptonshire

Notes

References

Sources

  • Kettering Green Party
  • Kettering Liberal Democrats
  • Kettering Conservatives
  • Kettering Labour Party
  • Kettering UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
  • Kettering UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
  • Kettering UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK