Murdered MP Jo Cox’s sister Kim Leadbeater HOLDS Batley and Spen for Labour by just 323 votes

Sir Keir Starmer has staved off a political crisis after the Labour Party clung on to Batley and Spen in a crucial by-election despite George Galloway’s efforts to woo Muslim voters in one of the most fractious campaigns in recent memory.

Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater, the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox, managed to fend off Tory challenger Ryan Stephenson, who came second, and maverick Mr Galloway, who came third, with a majority of just 323.

Speaking at Cathedral House in Huddersfield after the result was announced, Miss Leadbeater thanked West Yorkshire Police for the protection she had been given amid claims supporters of Mr Galloway’s Workers Party had intimidated her, but said: ‘Sadly I needed them more than ever.’

The Labour MP added: ‘I’m absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they’ve voted for hope.’ She thanked her family saying ‘without them I could not have got through the last five years, never mind the last five weeks.’

Labour leader Sir Keir said on Twitter the by-election was a ‘fantastic result for the brilliant and brave’ Miss Leadbeater, adding: ‘Kim ran a positive campaign of hope, in the face of division. She will be an outstanding Labour MP for Batley and Spen.’

Deputy leader Angela Rayner, who was accused of plotting to challenge Sir Keir if Labour had lost the vote, tweeted this morning: ‘Congrats to @kimleadbeater and the whole Labour team. Thank you to the people of Batley & Spen It was so good to see so many activists out on the doorstep.’

Brendan Cox, the widower of Mrs Cox, the Batley and Spen MP who was murdered by a far-Right extremist in June 2016 during the EU referendum campaign, tweeted: ‘We are all incredibly proud of @kimleadbeater today and Jo would have been too.

‘While the result between the two main parties was close the extremists & haters were left trailing. The people of Batley & Spen have voted for decency and positivity once again.’

But speaking to media outside Cathedral House, Mr Galloway said he will apply to the courts to have the election result set aside.

Boris Johnson’s inroads into Labour strongholds has been halted for a second time in a month, following the party’s defeat to the Liberal Democrats at the Chesham and Amersham by-election.

The latest failure comes after disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was caught flouting his own social distancing rules with his mistress, and after the Government chose to extend lockdown by at least another month to July 19, the new so-called Freedom Day. 

Speculation had been rife Sir Keir could have faced a leadership challenge if Labour had lost yet another Red Wall election.

But the party is likely to regard the by-election as a potential comeback for him, with a source telling Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges: ‘Everyone’s been claiming this is a referendum on Keir’s leadership. Well, we’ve won.’

It follows a divisive campaign in which Miss Leadbeater, a former Coronation Street actress, faced abuse from rival canvassers but was also accused of stoking racial and sectarian tensions by distributing leaflets aimed at the Pakistani Muslim population in the area.

Turnout was significantly down on the 66.5 per cent attained at the 2019 General Election at 47.61 per cent. However, there is normally a 15-point drop in turnout at by-elections compared to general elections.

As the polls closed at 10pm, Miss Leadbeater accused her political rivals of ‘intimidation and violence’ and said there had been ‘some unacceptable lows’ during the six-week campaign for the West Yorkshire seat.

In a statement published on Twitter, she called on the victor to ‘bring our community together and start working for local people’ after a vicious campaign by Labour canvassers and supporters of Mr Galloway’s Workers Party. 

Miss Leadbeater, whose sister was murdered by a far-Right extremist during the 2016 referendum on EU membership, said: ‘There have been many highs of this election campaign but sadly there have also been some unacceptable lows.

‘The acts of intimidation and violence by some who have come here with the sole aim of sowing division have been deeply upsetting to witness. Whatever the result tonight, the first priorities of the new MP must be to bring our community together and start working for local people in every part of the constituency I am proud to call my home.’

The Labour victory is likely to lead to deter any potential challengers from running against Sir Keir amid rumours that Miss Rayner had received the backing of major trade unions if she had decided to run against her boss in the event of a defeat.

However, the deputy leader has apparently not approached any unions directly or told them that she wants the job. It follows new polling this week which suggested that as many as four in 10 party members would want him to stand down and make for new leadership in the wake of a loss.

Her spokesman told the Times: ‘These apparent conversations are news to Angela. She has been campaigning to get the vote out for Kim and has not had a conversation with anyone – from a trade union or otherwise – regarding the leadership of the Labour Party.’

On Thursday the Ashton under Lyne MP called reports she had been canvassing support from MPs and trade unions ‘news to me’. Meanwhile, her allies told the Guardian that she does not want to stand now and that they are concerned about the risk to her reputation if she stabs Sir Keir in the back. 

Mr Galloway’s Workers Party targeted Labour’s Asian and white working-class coalition in a bid to topple Sir Keir. In a polling day video, the former Labour MP said he had a ‘real chance to bring about the biggest shock in British political history’ and warned: ‘One thing is certain: it’s curtains for Keir.’  

Tensions had flared between Mr Galloway’s Workers Party and Labour supporters as both sides sought the support of the constituency’s various Asian communities by grandstanding on international issues including Kashmir and Palestine. 

Sir Keir’s party was accused of stoking religious tensions after distributing a campaign leaflet which printed a photo of Mr Johnson shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, in an area with a sizable Muslim population. 

An arrow pointing to the photo said: ‘The risk of voting for anyone but Labour is clear.’ Mr Johnson has also faced allegations that he acted slowly on closing UK borders earlier this year despite concerns about the so-called Delta coronavirus variant because he wanted a trade deal with India.    

Last week, supporters of former Labour MP Mr Galloway were accused of using the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas in Palestine – and the Jewish heritage of Sir Keir’s wife – to attack Labour.

Sir Keir condemned as ‘disgraceful’ the abuse Labour candidate Miss Leadbeater faced from 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.  

It comes after a teacher at Batley Grammar School was suspended after Muslim parents complained that he had showed a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad to a blasphemy class. Though an independent inquiry ruled that he could rejoin the school, the teacher continues to live in hiding. 

Voters have been concerned about rising crime, the closure of the Batley police station and the state of the economy after successive lockdowns. 

An elderly Labour activist was allegedly physically attacked and pelted with eggs last week – with West Yorkshire Police confirming an 18-year-old man from Batley had been arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with an attack on the group of canvassers.

Miss Leadbeater is the sister of former Batley and Spen Miss Cox, who was murdered in the constituency in 2016. She cast her vote early on Thursday morning in the Liversedge area of the seat, giving a thumbs-up to waiting photographers.

The former Coronation Street actress has stressed she is the only one of the 16 candidates eligible to vote because she lives and works in the constituency.  

In a message to voters after polls closed, Mr Stephenson said: ‘Whatever the result, you proved that more and more local people are ready for change.’  

Sir Keir’s spokesman insisted the leader is on a ‘four-year path’ to lead the party back into power and would not be standing down if he oversaw another electoral defeat. 

‘But he played down the prospect of a victory by saying it ‘has always been a marginal seat’ and that winning ‘was always going to be challenging’.   

The Batley and Spen by-election was triggered after Tracy Brabin, who won the seat for Labour in 2019 with a 3,525 majority over the Conservatives, was elected as the mayor of West Yorkshire in May. 

Earlier this week, Labour’s former MP in the seat, Tracey Brabin, who quit after being elected mayor of West Yorkshire, also claimed last night that activists had been pelted with eggs and kicked in the head while on the campaign trail. 

Miss Brabin said she was leafleting with ‘colleagues, volunteers, campaigners’ in Batley on Sunday when they ‘were followed, verbally abused and physically assaulted by a group of young men’. 

She said: ‘The group I was with included young people and the elderly. I witnessed them being egged, pushed and forced to the ground and kicked in the head.’ 

West Yorkshire Police confirmed on Sunday evening that they were investigating, and Miss Brabin – who also holds the police and crime commissioner responsibility for the region – praised officers for their swift response. 

But she added: ‘We know why tensions are rising in our streets. Those who want to sow division are not welcome in our community. The actions of these people do not represent the Batley and Spen I know. We are kinder than this.’

Labour MP for Halifax Holly Lynch added: ‘There has been a series of increasingly serious and violent attacks in recent days and this is absolutely unacceptable. Lawless thugs are seeking to intimidate and attack those involved in the proper democratic process.’ 

Residents are voting amid accusations of foul play. Earlier this week, Labour lashed out over a fake leaflet allegedly released by the Trades Union Congress which highlighted Sir Keir Starmer’s support for Black Lives Matter in a bid to hit his popularity among white working-class voters.

The TUC said it was part of a ‘dirty tricks campaign’ and that those responsible ‘should be ashamed of themselves’.