FORMER Mayor of Reading Cllr Rachel Eden has announced her intention to run in Reading’s newly-formed constituency in the next general election.
With a general election due before January 2025, political parties are making preparations and Reading is set to see a new constituency as Reading East is split into Reading Central and Woodley and Earley.
Reading West will also become Reading West and Mid-Berkshire, and the seat’s current MP, Sir Alok Sharma, has announced he will not be standing in the next election.
Now Labour councillor for Whitley Rachel Eden has announced that she intends to stand as a candidate in the new Woodley and Earley seat.
She posted to social media on Thursday, October 5, to announce that she would be seeking support for what would be her third election as an electoral candidate, after standing in 2017 and 2019.
It follows more than a decade in her role as a Whitely councillor and two years as Reading’s mayor.
Following the announcement, Ms Eden said: “I am applying to be the Labour candidate for the brand new constituency of Earley and Woodley
“I’m privileged to represent Whitley as a counsellor and it will be even more of a privilege to represent Whitley and other communities across south Reading in Parliament.”
Speaking on the new constituencies Reading is set to form, she said: “As an MP, you have a different role to that of a councillor, but you still can really shake the local community.
“It’s an extra person to champion our area, and will change the focus a little bit: I hope that particularly in Earley in Woodley it will mean that we’re able to see, for communities which are geographically very close together but perhaps sometimes felt further apart, the opportunity to bring them together as the new MP.”
It is expected that the constituency’s current MP, Matt Rodda for Reading East, would run for Reading Central in the next election.
Speaking on whether she would run alongside Mr Rodda, Ms Eden explained: “I’ve known Matt for many years, and we’ve campaigned together so many times– we work together really well.
“So if I get the privilege of the opportunity to stand again for Labour, I’m sure Matt and I will work together as a really strong team.
“We’re not complacent, and we’ve got no illusions of the scale of the challenge, but it’s going to be a change election, so we have the opportunity to demonstrate that we could be the fresh start that the Reading area needs.”
