A backlash against toxic campaigning and the Hancock affair gave Labour activists hope in Batley and Spen, shifting the political dial
The Labour candidate in the Batley and Spen byelection, Kim Leadbeater, was not exactly full of optimism as she headed to the count at 4.20am on Friday morning. The final days of Labour’s campaign in the West Yorkshire seat, where her sister Jo Cox was the MP until she was murdered by a rightwing extremist in 2016, had in many ways been heartening for the party. Activists and Labour MPs had arrived from all over the country for one final push and late on there were signs of a revival of support.
The Matt Hancock affair had clearly hit the Tory vote and people were coming over to Labour to ensure George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain, which had been blamed for stoking division over issues including Palestine, Kashmir and gay rights, could not come close to winning. Liberal Democrats were campaigning with Labour. Even some Tories said they were switching to back Leadbeater. The combined effects of Galloway’s early success in the campaign and Hancock’s hypocrisy had galvanised the Labour party machine into action and bolstered its support from unlikely quarters.
