By-election result may prompt leadership fight

THE CANDIDATES in the Batley and Spen by-election were due to discover their fate today after an increasingly bitter campaign which could prompt further speculation about the leadership of the Labour Party.

A total of 16 candidates are standing in the West Yorkshire constituency and were due to find out the result at around 6am after polls closed last night.

The by-election was seen as a straight fight between Labour’s Kim Leadbeater and the Tories’ Ryan Stephenson, but the arrival of veteran campaigner George Galloway in the constituency provided an extra headache for Labour’s campaign managers. Mr Galloway said he was targeting Labour voters in an explicit attempt to topple Sir Keir Starmer.

And tensions between his

Workers Party and Labour supporters made the campaign increasingly bitter, with the most controversial arguments centring on the parties’ stance on international issues, including Kashmir and Palestine, as they battled to secure votes in the area’s various Asian communities.

Labour activists said they were pelted with eggs and kicked in the head while on the campaign trail at the weekend and West Yorkshire Police said an 18-year-old man from Batley was arrested on suspicion of assault.

Ms Leadbeater is the sister of former Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox, who was murdered in the constituency in 2016.

She cast her vote early yesterday morning in the Liversedge area of the seat, giving a thumbsup to waiting photographers.

Yesterday, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner denied she is part of a possible bid to challenge Sir Keir if the party loses, but defeat would heighten the internal debate about his leadership.

However, it is unclear whether any challenger would be able to command sufficient unity in order to get the signatures of the 40 MPs required to trigger a leadership contest.