Voters go out to replace Cox and Cameron

VOTERS WENT to the polls in two parliamentary seats yesterday.

In Batley & Spen they were electing a replacement for Jo Cox, who died in an incident in Birstall in June.

And it Witney, Oxfordshire, they were voting for a replacement for former Prime Minister David Cameron. Former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin was selected as the Labour candidate seeking to carry on the work of Ms Cox.

Labour was believed to be on course to win in Batley & Spen, Yorkshire, in a by-election caused by the death of Mrs Cox days before the Brexit referendum. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Ukip chose not to field a candidate out of respect to Mrs Cox.

With Mr Cameron gaining 60 per cent of the vote in Witney, Oxfordshire, at last year’s general election the Tories were expected to hold the seat comfortably.

In Witney, the Lib Dems are hoping to knock Labour into third place, while the Greens garnered attention with their candidate Larry Sanders as he is the brother of US Senator Bernie Sanders who ran Hillary Clinton a close race in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Mr Cameron quit the seat last month after insisting he did not want to become a “distraction” to Mrs May while she established herself in Downing Street as he stressed he had his “own views” on certain issues.

The remarks prompted speculation he decided to stand down because the new wave of grammar schools announced by Mrs May was an idea he opposed as PM. However, Mr Cameron and his successor in Number 10 campaigned together for Tory candidate Robert Courts.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also visited the constituency to back his party’s veteran candidate, Duncan Enright, who lost out to Mr Cameron by more than 25,000 votes in 2015.

For the verdict, visit: www. yorkshirepost.co.uk.