CLAKHITON (AFP) – The British Labor Party won a modest victory in a major by-election in northern England. Kim Leadbeater, the sister of MP Joe Cox, who was murdered in the street in 2016, won by just 323 votes against Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson on Friday, about 35.3 percent. Battelle and the loss of the parliamentary mandate in the Spain constituency could also have been for Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, who had recently been under pressure from within the party.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the turmoil surrounding the implementation of Brexit, Starmer was unable to buck Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s support from conservatives. Instead, his party is also growing in traditionally labour-intensive areas of northern England.
“I am absolutely thrilled that Battle and the people of Spain have rejected division and voted for hope,” Leadbeater said after the final results were announced. His sister, Labor MP Joe Cox, was assassinated by a right-wing extremist shortly before the 2016 Brexit referendum. The election on Thursday became necessary after Cox’s successor gave up his mandate to take over as mayor.
Image: © AFP Oli Scarf / Labor Party leader Starmer with election winner Leadbeater
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