The election was widely considered as a crucial test for Labourleader, Sir Keir Starmer, who has been under pressure for failing to get party back on track, reports Asian Lite News
The Labour Party on Friday gained a narrow victory in a battle for an open Parliament seat, after it failed miserably in the recent local polls.
The election was widely considered as a crucial test for the party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, who has been under pressure for failing to get party back.
The election was held following the resignation of the previous Member of Parliament Tracy Brabin, who was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire on 10 May.
Jo Cox's parents were filled with such pride for their daughter Kim today.
She faced down the politics of division with a campaign of hope.
Jo would be so proud of the way Kim embodies her legacy: "We have far more in common than that which divides us." pic.twitter.com/iUjWaRQcxQ
Sir Keir Starmer has declared “Labour is back” after the party held on at the Batley and Spen by-election, the BBC reported.
Starmer headed to the West Yorkshire constituency to celebrate Kim Leadbeater’s narrow 323-vote win. He said it was a victory for “hope over division, and decency over hatred”, after a bitter campaign, and “just the start” for Labour.
Leadbeater took the seat with 13,296 votes, giving her a slim victory over Mr Stephenson with 12,973. Leadbeater will now represent the seat previously held by her sister Jo Cox, who was murdered there in 2016.
Sir Keir hailed her “incredible courage” in standing for the seat, and claimed “Labour is coming home”, it was reported.
Writing in the Guardian, he also promised the by-election would be “a turning point, a sign that the politics of division and dishonesty won’t win out, that unity and decency can”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson ran an “incredibly positive campaign” and “did very well to reduce a longstanding Labour majority”.
Leadbeater took the seat with 13,296 votes, giving her a slim victory over Mr Stephenson with 12,973. (Source: twitter@kimleadbeater)
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson claimed the by-election result was the “third biggest swing in favour of the government since the War”, it was reported.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer, for whom this election was a major test after assuming the top party position, said he was taking “full responsibility” for the defeat, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
With more English election results are set to be announced today, the ruling Conservative Party has already made significant gains, with Labour losing control of several local authorities, according to reports.
Prime Minister ad Conservative Leader Boris Johnson called the results so far “encouraging”, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to lead a fightback and set out a “bold vision”, the BBC reported.
On Thursday, people in England voted in elections for 143 councils, 13 mayors and 35 police and crime commissioners. The results are set to continue coming in over the weekend, with pandemic restrictions causing delays and counting centres working according to different timetables.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have already snatched a historically left-wing seat from the opposition Labour in a tense by-election in England.
Conservative party candidate Jill Mortimer won the north-east England seat of Hartlepool with a large majority, beating opposition Labour party candidate Paul Williams, reports dpa news agency.
She described it as a “truly historic” result. It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that the seat has been won by a Conservative politician. Previously it had only been held by Labour, at one point, a candidate who ran as an independent.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, adding: “I take full responsibility for the results. And I will take full responsibility for fixing things.”
Conservatives also picked up control of several councils, including Maidstone, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and Basildon, while Labour lost some, including Sheffield and Plymouth, to no overall control.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
They have managed to keep the Tees Valley mayoralty – in an area once considered a Labour stronghold – with Ben Houchen increasing his share of the vote to 73%, according to BBC report.
The party also gained new police and crime commissioners, for Cleveland, Avon and Somerset and Dorset.
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
It is equally a blow for Labour party leader Keir Starmer, who has only been chief for a year.
The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Photo: No 10, Downing Street)
On Friday, the prime minister had travelled to Hartlepool to celebrate his party’s win, hailing the backing of “the fantastic people of the north-east” and saying it gave his government a renewed mandate, the Guardian reported.
The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
The London mayoral result will be announced today, although if it is close it could take longer, it was reported.
SNP majority on knife edge
Though the Scottish National Party has won three key seats but the hopes of securing an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament election remain on a knife edge, the BBC reported.
Scotland First Minister and and Leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
The party has taken both Edinburgh Central – where former MP Angus Robertson was standing for the SNP – and Ayr from the Conservatives, according to the report.
The party also won the East Lothian seat from Labour.
No other constituencies have changed hands so far, with the SNP currently on 39 seats, the Liberal Democrats four, Tories two and Labour one.
Labour retains Wales
There is nothing much to worry for Labour in Wales as the party is set to stay in power after matching its best-ever Senedd election result, with exactly half of the 60 seats in the Welsh Parliament, the BBC reported.
However, the Conservatives took the Vale of Clwyd from Labour, and Brecon and Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats. And Labour took Rhondda back from Plaid Cymru.
So far 52 of the 60 seats are declared, and Labour has won 30; Conservatives 12, Plaid Cymru 9 and the Liberal Democrats one, it was reported.
It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that Hartlepool seat has been won by a Conservative politician, reports Asian Lite News
The UK’s ruling Conservative Party has snatched a historically left-wing seat from the opposition Labour in a tense by-election in England.
Conservative party candidate Jill Mortimer won the north-east England seat of Hartlepool with a large majority, beating opposition Labour party candidate Paul Williams, reports dpa news agency.
She described it as a “truly historic” result.
It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that the seat has been won by a Conservative politician.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
Previously it had only been held by Labour, at one point, a candidate who ran as an independent.
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
The report from the 1928 Institute, a University of Oxford backed think-tank, reveals that British Indian voting patterns and political disconnections. Data suggests British Indians are likely to vote Conservative, despite voting Labour in 2019 ….. A special report by Kaliph Anaz
As Britain goes to poll tomorrow to elect their local representatives, a study shows more headache for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Analysis of over 2,300 British Indians across the country shows that despite the majority (36%) voting Labour in the 2019 General Elections, the 2021 local elections will see a shift, with British Indians now showing support for Conservative party (33%) and Labour falling behind at 31%.
The study considered migration paths, religious identities, and geographical locations in the United Kingdom. The study shows younger voters are more inclined to vote for Conservative, despite previously supporting Labour. Only 8% of British Indians feel accurately represented by policymakers and detail their political priorities for local and national Government
The report from the 1928 Institute, a University of Oxford backed think-tank, focused on researching and representing the British Indian community, has analysed the political alignment and priorities of British Indians from across the United Kingdom.
The report (with fieldwork conducted in August 2020 and December 2020), which investigates and compares the relationship between the political party inclined to support and key demographics: age and location – found that the most sizeable change in voting preference is from those aged between 21 to 50, with 45.9% respondents moving away from Labour resulting in the Conservative party picking up the majority of these voters (48.8%).
However, the analysis found the narrowest gap by age group is 26-30, with just a 2% margin in the Conservative party’s favour. However, further analysis between August and December found a significant increase in those unlikely to vote in this week’s election.
Analysis by location found that in August 2020, British Indian’s were more likely to vote Labour across most regions, except Scotland, where the Conservative Party took the lead, highlighting that the manifesto of the SNP did not align with the political needs and wants of British Indians. The regions with the narrowest difference in support between the Labour and Conservative Party are the East of England (4%), followed by Greater London (6%) and the South East (8%).
In December 2020, the majority of British Indians were inclined to vote for the Conservative Party. Although Labour retained support in the North West, South East, West Midlands, British Indians across Yorkshire and Humber are inclined to the Conservative and Labour Parties equally (35% respectively). In addition, in the South West, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the strongest party.
When asked if British Indians feel accurately represented by policymakers, only 8% agreed. Many went on to state that historically, the British Indian Diaspora were not vocal about their needs and instead focused on settling into their communities. As a result, feel that current and future generations will continue to be overlooked.
The report highlights five key policy areas British Indians would like to see prioritised by the Government: education (54%), health (52%), environment and climate change (44%), domestic poverty (36%), and equalities and human rights (33%). When asked why British Indians felt these five areas were important, respondents explained that these areas align with their cultural values of giving back to society, or “Seva”, along with the importance of taking care of the vulnerable.
In addition, 4 in 5 British Indians (84%) want the Government to prioritise tackling racism and colonialism. British Indians stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement calling for resources and capital to promote equality and human rights across all ethnic minorities. Respondents described that they do not find “BAME” a useful concept as the generalisation incorrectly informs the distribution of resources and identity.
Kiran Kaur Manku, Co-Founder of the 1928 Institute and Researcher Fellow at the University of Oxford, said: “This report provides empirical evidence on has found clear patterns between the needs and wants of British Indians. Given that almost three in four British Indians do not feel accurately represented by policymakers at and the 1928 Institute, we would like to see the policy priorities and recommendations urgently be implemented.
Kiran Kaur Manku
“British Indians contribute significantly outlined move from conversation to action. The recently issued ‘race report’ whilst finding no institutional racism in the UK and are calling for rational actions to support society: the national curriculum to include Britain’s colonial legacy and impact, and ethnic minorities task-force the United Kingdom has synergies with embedded ethics our research.”
The report is compiled from three datasets with a survey between 13 July and 18 August, focus groups between 16th and 25th November 2020, and another survey between 16th and 22nd December. The research reflects input from over 2,300 UK respondents aged between 16 and 85 with a mean of 36-40. Respondents have varied employment status and work across various sectors, including defence, professional services, technology, and healthcare.
The 1928 Institute is a newly launched think tank backed by the University of Oxford. Focused on researching and representing members of the UK population, which identify as British Indian- the UK’s largest ethnic minority group, the think tank focuses on uncovering information on key topics which impact this demographic and exploring Indian ideas. With notable members, Parliamentarians, the 1928 Institute aims to ensure the voices of the Diaspora is heard at the highest levels of the UK Government.
Sir Keir Starmer said that he is committed to rooting out Islamophobia in British society. In the message, he praised the immense contribution made by British Muslim communities during the pandemic. He was addressing the Iftar event organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims
