London, Jul 2 (Bureau) Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater won a narrow victory in a tight by-election held in the English Batley and Spen constituency for a seat in the British parliament, following the resignation of the previous Labour lawmaker Tracy Brabin, who was elected mayor of West Yorkshire in May, according to official results published on Friday.
Leadbeater secured the seat in the House of Commons with 13,296 votes, with Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson on 12,973 and George Galloway, of the Workers Party, in third with 8,264. “I’m absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they’ve voted for hope,” Leadbeater, sister of late lawmaker Jo Cox, who was murdered in 2016, said in her victory speech.
The campaign, which had been portrayed as a critical test for Labour leader Keir Starmer, was marred by claims of dirty tricks, intimidation including assaults, fake leaflets, racist and homophobic comments, prompting calls for police and election officials to intervene.