Labour is mulling fielding Glenn Bedingfield in the first Electoral District to mobilise its core vote, The Malta Independent in informed.

"I am actively considering contesting in the First District as well as my home District, the Second District. I find it hard to say no to the party," Bedingfield said when contacted.

The first district in the coming election will see the addition of part of Birkirkara to make up for the dwindling population in the Grand Harbour region, most notably Valletta and Floriana. The other localities that form the first district are Hamrun, Marsa, Santa Venera and Pieta (including Guardamangia).

The outcome in this district is often highly indicative of the general result of the election. The Labour Party has elected three of five candidates in the elections between 2008 and 2022, while the last time that the Nationalist Party won three seats was in 2003.

The Labour Party is seeking to strengthen its list on the first district, one of two districts which do not have a minister on Robert Abela's Cabinet.

Aaron Farrugia, who was elected from this district, had been named Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects after the 2022 election but lost his place in the January 2024 reshuffle. The other district with no minister is the 12th - Clayton Bartolo had been appointed minister until his resignation in November last year.

In the last election, apart from Farrugia, on the first district Labour elected Keith Azzopardi Tanti, who was named parliamentary secretary, and Deo Debattista, while Cressida Galea and Davina Sammut Hili were elected through the gender-corrective mechanism. Veteran Jose Herrera had failed to be elected. Another candidate on the first district was parliamentary secretary Andy, who however was not elected her but obtained hgis seat from the third district.

Bedingfield is now being seen by Labour as a candidate who could strengthen the party's list on the first district.

Bedingfield was elected for the first time through a casual election on the Second District in 2017, and had then served as the party's whip. He repeated the feat in 2022 and was named parliamentary secretary in 2024. Polls show that since his appointment, the PL's voter retention in the second district moved up from 76% in January 2024 to 84% in June this year. 

The elected is slated for 2027 but it could be anticipated by a year.