The Batley and Spen by-election was a UK parliamentary

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 20 October 2016 in the constituency of Batley and Spen. It was triggered by the murder of the incumbent

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP), Jo Cox, on 16 June 2016. The Labour candidate,

Tracy Brabin Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 20 ...

, won with 85.8% of the vote. Four parties with parliamentary representation did not enter candidates, out of respect for Cox. Nine candidates contested against Labour, and none reached the 5% threshold to keep their deposit. The by-election was scheduled to coincide with the Witney by-election. They were the fifth and sixth by-elections of the 56th UK Parliament.

Candidates

The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, the Liberal Democrats,

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

all declined to contest the election, as a mark of respect. Brendan Cox, Jo Cox's widower, also ruled out standing for the seat. Labour began selecting a candidate on 14 September. The Batley-born actress

and the

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

-based campaigner, Jane Thomas, were shortlisted for selection on 19 September. Brabin won the selection on 23 September. She had campaigned for Cox at the 2015 election, and had been told by her that "you should be an MP". On 18 July, the

English Democrats The English Democrats is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government. The English Democrats were established in 20 ...

announced that its deputy chairman, Therese Hirst, a former leader of

Veritas Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...

, would be its candidate. Hirst (as Therese Muchewicz) stood in Bradford West at the 2015 general election, but came last with 98 votes (0.2%). She was again its candidate for West Yorkshire in the 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner elections, where she again had the least support, with 20,656 votes (3.9%). She had previously stood for Veritas in Bradford South in 2005. The

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

(BNP) chose David Furness, who had earlier that year received 0.5% of votes in the London mayoral election. The National Front chose the veteran campaigner

Richard Edmonds Richard Charles Edmonds (10 March 1943 – 23 December 2020) was an English politician. He was the deputy chairman and national organiser of the British National Party (BNP) and also prominent in the National Front (NF) during two spells of m ...

, a

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

for them and the BNP who came last with 49 votes in Carshalton and Wallington in the 2015 general election. On 18 June 2016, Liberty GB announced that Jack Buckby, a former BNP politician, would be its candidate in the by-election. Liberty GB registered the description "No to terrorism, yes to Britain", which appeared on the ballot paper instead of the party name. Neil Humphrey stood for the English Independence Party as Corbyn Anti (and so was listed as "Anti Corbyn" on the ballot paper); this new party supported English nationalism. Waqas Ali Khan stood as an independent; he was the UKIP candidate for Shipley at the 2015 general election, coming third of six candidates. Garry Kitchin previously stood for the Green Party in local elections. He was the only candidate registered to an address in the constituency. A London-based musician, Ankit Love, stood for the One Love Party, which campaigns against air pollution. He contested several elections earlier in the year, including the London mayoral election.

Result

The result was declared at 1:45 am at Cathedral House in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. Brabin held the seat for Labour on one of the lowest turnouts for a parliamentary by-election since the end of the Second World War. All other candidates polled less than 5% of the vote and lost their deposits. Brabin was heckled by some of the other candidates as she delivered her speech at the declaration of the result. In her speech she said, "Tonight is a bittersweet occasion for me. That this by-election had to take place at all is a tragedy. Whether you voted for me, voted for other candidates or didn't vote at all, I give you my word, I will be equally strong for each and every one of you." She thanked the parties who chose not to contest the election and declared a victory for "unity and hope". Cox's widower, Brendan, was pleased that the far-right candidates lost their deposits.

2015 result

References

{{By-elections to the 56th UK Parliament Batley and Spen by-election Batley and Spen by-election By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in West Yorkshire constituencies Jo Cox Batley and Spen by-election 2010s in West Yorkshire

Candidates

Result

2015 result

See also

References