Labour’s embarrassing Badenoch blunder

A tale of two by-elections: Labour holds Batley and Spen

Labour has held the Batley and Spen by-election, with candidate Kim Leadbeater winning with a majority of 3,237 votes. The result will be a relief to Labour leader Keir Starmer, who has been under pressure following the party’s defeat in the Hartlepool by-election earlier this year.

The victory in Batley and Spen is a sign that Starmer is starting to turn things around for Labour. The party’s vote share increased by 12% compared to the 2019 general election, and Leadbeater won the seat from the Conservatives, who had held it since 2015.

By-election blunders

The Batley and Spen by-election was overshadowed to some extent by the news that Conservative candidate Imran Ahmad Khan had been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. Khan was expelled from the Conservative Party and has now resigned his seat in Parliament.

The Khan scandal is a major embarrassment for the Conservatives, and it will be interesting to see if it has any impact on the upcoming Chesham and Amersham by-election. The Conservatives are defending a majority of 16,223 in Chesham and Amersham, but the Liberal Democrats are hoping to gain the seat.

What does the future hold for Labour and the Conservatives?

The Batley and Spen by-election result suggests that Labour is on the up, while the Conservatives are on the down. Starmer will be hoping to build on this momentum in the run-up to the next general election, which is due to be held in 2024.

The Conservatives will be hoping to turn things around in Chesham and Amersham, but they will need to do more to convince voters that they are a party that is fit to govern.