Before being elected, Witherden became a teacher in 2005 and spent almost two decades in the profession. He joined the NASUWT teachers’ union in the same year and began serving as a trade union representative for his school in 2009. However, he has long been a vocal critic of Israel, writing several articles on the topic accusing the Jewish State of genocide. In one, he argued that the Gaza War amounted to “the deliberate extermination of the people of Gaza: missile by missile, bullet by bullet, calorie by calorie”. The whole Labour government is united in wanting to bring about that lasting peace Israelis and Palestinians deserve.”