England: Sister of murdered MP Jo Cox wins parliamentary seat

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Labor politician Leadbeater after voting on Thursday

Photo: Danny Lawson / dpa

The lead was only a few hundred votes: Labor politician Kim Leadbeater won the by-election in the British constituency of Batley and Spen. With 13,296 votes, she was just ahead of the conservative Tory candidate Ryan Stephenson, for whom 12,973 people voted. The West Yorkshire result would be little more than a side note if Leadbeater weren't the younger sister of the murdered Labor MP Jo Cox.

Cox was shot dead on the street near Leeds a week before the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Cox had publicly campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU.

Shortly before the attack, she had attended a public consultation hour.

The perpetrator, a right-wing extremist, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016.

Cox was the first female MP to be murdered in Britain.

Leadbeater thanks family and friends - and the police

"I am absolutely relieved that the Batley and Spen people refused to split and voted for hope," Leadbeater said after the results were announced.

"If I become half as good an MP as Jo, I know I would make her proud."

The 44-year-old also thanked her friends and family.

"Without her, I wouldn't have gotten through the past five years, and certainly not the past five weeks," Leadbeater said.

She also thanked the police, who "sadly needed her more than ever," she thanked.

The by-election had become necessary because the constituency's previous Labor MP, Tracy Brabin, had been elected mayor of the West Yorkshire metropolitan area in May.

Since Brabin was also responsible for the police and prosecution with the office, she had to give up her mandate.

The election victory also provided relief for Labor leader Keir Starmer.

On Twitter, he spoke of a "fantastic" result for the "brilliant and courageous" candidate Leadbeater.

Starmer recently came under massive pressure after Labor lost the mandate in north-east England's Hartlepool to the Tories of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the first time in decades.

The vote in Hartlepool was already an important test of the mood.

In the event of a defeat in Batley and Spen as well, the pressure on the party leader to step down after just over a year in office would have grown even more, according to the Reuters news agency.

fek / Reuters