Batley and Spen by-election could see Boris Johnson oust Labour – latest poll

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Voters in the Batley and Spen by-election will head to the polls on July 1 to vote for their next MP. A traditional Labour ‘red wall’ seat, the first poll for this by-election has indicated the seat could turn blue for the first time since 1997. According to the poll, those questioned also favoured Boris Johnson over Sir Keir Starmer as the best person for the role of Prime Minister.

Tracy Brabin, a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, vacated the Batley and Spen seat after winning the election to be the next Mayor of West Yorkshire earlier this year.

Candidates from several parties are now vying for the seat on the campaign trail, with just days to go until voters head to the polls.

Batley and Spen was once the constituency of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist in the town in 2016.

The Conservative candidate for the seat is Ryan Stephenson and Tom Gordon is the candidate for the Liberal Democrats.

Kim Leadbeater is now running as the Labour candidate for the constituency, five years after the death of her sister Jo Cox.

On the campaign trail, Ms Leadbeater told the Independent: “I think about Jo every day and have done for the past five years so, of course, this [running in her old seat] is emotional and it’s difficult.

“I’m incredibly proud to be Jo Cox’s sister but it’s also important I get in on the merits of being Kim Leadbeater.”

The outcome of the Batley and Spen by-election will give significant insight into voters’ opinions of the Labour Party, after what has been a turbulent few months for the party.

Earlier this year, Labour suffered a devastating defeat in the traditionally Labour constituency of Hartlepool.

Sitting Labour MP Mike Hill resigned but Labour failed to hold onto the seat after his departure, with Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer winning with 51.9 percent of the vote.

Last week Labour also missed out on the Chesham and Amersham by-election.

The Liberal Democrats stormed to victory in the seat with Sarah Green winning 56.7 percent of the vote, with Labour winning only 1.6 percent.

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What are the latest polls for Batley and Spen by-election?

On behalf of the Daily Mail, Survation conducted a telephone poll of adults over the age of 18 in the Batley and Spen constituency between June 9 and June 17, 2021.

According to the results of the poll, the Conservatives are in the lead with 47 percent.

In the same poll, Labour polled with a vote share of 41 percent.

George Galloway and his Workers Party were in third place with a six percent vote share, while the Lib Democrats polled at three percent.

The Survation poll also found Boris Johnson has a higher approval rating as leader compared to his rival Sir Keir Starmer among Batley and Spen voters.

Boris Johnson has a net approval rating of +18 percent while Keir Starmer is at -32 percent, according to the poll.

On the basis of who would make the best Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was backed by 55 percent of those asked in Batley and Spen.

In comparison, only 18 percent of those asked thought Sir Keir Starmer would make the best Prime Minister.

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