Batley and Spen by-election: PM Boris Johnson pledges to 'level up'

During the prime minister's visit to West Yorkshire, he met staff and students at Kirklees College

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has visited West Yorkshire to galvanise Conservative support in the former seat of murdered MP Jo Cox.

Mr Johnson went to Batley to campaign with Ryan Stephenson, Tory candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election.

His visit came hours after a crushing by-election defeat in Buckinghamshire.

During a visit to Fox's Biscuits, he said Batley and Spen was a "traditional Labour seat" but his party was on a "mission" to "level up".

Mr Johnson visited Fox's Biscuits, the town's biggest employer

Mr Johnson said: "That means looking at all the issues that matter, whether that's people's education, improving skills in this area, working with Kirklees to improve skills, putting more money into apprenticeships."

He added: "Opportunity isn't equally distributed and the objective of levelling up is to work with great people in West Yorkshire, in Batley, to give young people growing up in the area the chances they deserve."

The by-election, which will be held on 1 July, was triggered after previous MP, Labour's Tracy Brabin, stood down when she was elected as West Yorkshire's mayor.

She became Batley and Spen MP in 2016 after Ms Cox was murdered by a far-right extremist while visiting her constituency office.

Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson said it was a "tough challenge"

Her sister Kim Leadbeater has been selected as the Labour candidate.

Although the constituency has been held by Labour for decades, the by-election is expected to be a close campaign.

Mr Stephenson said: "A seat here like Batley and Spen that has been Labour for nearly quarter of a century is always going to be a tough challenge.

"But talking to people on the doorstep, people say they want change and more and more people are saying they need a Conservative MP to work with the government to get the investment for our area."

The poll will be contested by 16 candidates (listed alphabetically by surname):

• Paul Bickerdike - Christian Peoples Alliance

• Mike Davies - Alliance For Green Socialism

• Jayda Fransen - Independent

• George Galloway - Workers Party

• Tom Gordon - Liberal Democrats

• Thérèse Hirst - English Democrats

• Howling Laud Hope - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

• Susan Laird - Heritage Party

• Kim Leadbeater - Labour Party

• Oliver Purser - Social Democratic Party

• Corey Robinson - Yorkshire Party

• Andrew Smith - Rejoin EU

• Ryan Stephenson - Conservative Party

• Jack Thomson - UK Independence Party

• Jonathan Tilt - Freedom Alliance

• Anne Marie Waters - The For Britain Movement

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