Crowded field on cards for by-election battle

FORTUNES OF MAIN PARTIES IN BALANCE

THIS summer, the media circus will arrive in Batley and Spen when the by-election triggered by Tracy Brabin’s mayoral win is likely to kick off.

The fortunes of both of the main parties are hanging on this seat.

Labour will be desperate to claw back some credibility following a bruising set of local elections, while the Tories will want to show their winning streak doesn’t apply just to the classic “Red Wall” seats.

The names of those vying for nominations have been doing the rounds.

For Labour, those thought to be interested include Kirklees council leader Shabir Pandor, and his colleagues Habiban Zaman, Aafaq Butt and Naheed Mather – although Clr Mather subsequently told The Examiner’s sister website YorkshireLive that she would not be running in the race.

Leeds councillor Salma Arif is also thought to be considering a bid, as is regional Labour media officer Dan Howard and Huddersfield lawyer Hugh Goulbourne.

However, the conversation has taken a different turn after Kim Leadbeater, the sister of Jo Cox – who was murdered in Batley in 2016 – announced that after “a lot of soul searching”, she wanted to stand in the race. “I would love to represent this extraordinary, vibrant place that I have called home all my life,” she said.

Where that leaves some of the other Labour candidates is unclear, but Paula Sherriff, the former Labour MP for Dewsbury, said she was now putting a Batley bid aside.

“I was considering it it for a time, but I’m really, really pleased to hear that Kim Leadbeater has chosen to stand, and I think in politics it really helps if we have a bit of maturity,” she said.

“I think we are all very competitive in politics if you like, but I think in my mind, Kim would be an ideal candidate and a better candidate for Batley and Spen than I would be,” she told YorkshireLive.

The race could become a crowded one, with independent parties expected to stand.

Paul Halloran, of the Heavy Woollen District Independents, who took 12 per cent of the vote when he ran in the 2019 general election, also said he was “seriously considering” standing.

Following a good showing in the West Yorkshire mayoral election, the Yorkshire Party has also said it intends to stand a candidate.

The wild card candidate in this race is former Bradford West Labour MP George Galloway, who said his Workers Party GB will be contesting the seat. He is likely to prove a thorn in the side for Labour, undermining the party that once expelled him from its ranks.

For the Tories, there are plenty of local players poised to throw their hat in the ring, but one source said there had also been interest in Batley from as far afield as Humberside and Merseyside.

Imtiaz Ameen, who stood as the party’s candidate for Dewsbury South in this year’s elections, is said to be tempted to run for Batley – which he also contested back in 2015 – as is Itrat Ali, a candidate for Heckmondwike this year, who also ran for Huddersfield in 2015.

Mark Thompson, a Tory councillor for Birstall and Birkenshaw, could also throw his hat into the ring.

Matthew Robinson, who lost out to Ms Brabin in the race for West Yorkshire mayor, has ruled himself out of the Batley by-election after revealing his wife had suffered a miscarriage during his mayoral campaign.