Candidate’s energy helped swing result in tense fight

New MP seeks to heal divisions in constituency

Caitlin Doherty, The Yorkshire Post’s Westminster Correspondent, reflects on a tumultuous election campaign highly of the influence that energetic Ms Leadbeater as an individual – not just as Labour candidate – was having on the vote.

On a visit to the constituency last Monday, Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds remarked that it had been tough to complete a door knocking round without finding somebody who knew Ms Leadbeater in some way or another.

Whether they had gone to school with her, attended her exercise classes, knew other members of the family or even “used to go knitting with my Auntie”, the Labour candidate was well-known among the community. It was even happening with Zoom campaigning, the MP said.

The police officers stationed around the counting hall and outside in the car park of Huddersfield Cathedral House were a reminder of the tensions this poll brought to the fore.

Accusations of intimidation and violence followed the campaign in its closing days. Ms Leadbeater was confronted by a man who challenged her over the situation in Kashmir and her stance on LGBT education in schools amid what he said were concerns from Muslim parents.

Despite this, the optimism that Ms Leadbeater had taken on to the door steps carried through, all the way to after 5am on yesterday morning, when having just been announced as MP, she told the cameras: “I am absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they voted for hope.”