Kim Leadbeater: In a first past the post election, we should think more about the qualities of the candidate than about the qualities of the leader of a political party

 

Whether Kim Leadbeater is or isn't the sister of Jo Cox that used to represent Batley and Spen - there will be a by-election next July - is for some people a relevant issue and some think that she was selected to stand because she is the sister of Jo Cox.

For me, personally, it is about the qualities of the candidate and it should not matter who is the Leader of the Labour Party. It is a first-past-the-post election. We should focus on the candidate and not on who is the Leader of the party.

By the same token, people in Manchester voted for Andy Burnham because Andy Burnham was the man standing, I am sure that many of those voting for Andy Burnham do not agree with the way Keir Starmer is leading the Labour Party, but they still voted for Andy Burnham because they like the way he runs Manchester as Mayor of Manchester. The same should apply to Batley and Spen.

Some Labour MPs have publicly said that if the Labour Party loses the by-election in a seat that they have held since 1997 (the year when Tony Blair came to power as Prime Minister), it will be curtains for Keir Starmer's leadership. For some, this is about the Labour Party. I think this is about the person that the people of Batley and Spen want to represent them in Westminster.

Trying to equate Hartlepool with Batley and Spen is wrong for various reasons. Firstly, the by-election in Hartlepool was called because the local Labour MP resigned because of an ongoing investigation into sexual abuses. The situation is Batley and Spen is radically different. The by-election in Batley and Spen was called because Tracy Brabin - the local Labour MP - was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire. 

There is a significant factor. In the EU Membership Referendum, 60 per cent of those who voted voted for Brexit. Therefore, some in the Labour Party should tone down their anti-Brexit rhetoric and at least try to respect the will of the voters of Batley and Spen.

Kim Leadbeater has spoken with wisdom. She has reminded the official Labour Party that far too many Labour MPs have no experience of the real world and that this contributes to their detachment from ordinary voters.