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8 July 2021updated 08 Sep 2021 4:58pm

What Labour’s Batley and Spen win means for Keir Starmer’s leadership

Stephen Bush explains why Starmer's leadership was never in danger – even if Labour had lost in Batley and Spen.

By Stephen Bush and Phil Clarke Hill

Video produced by Phil Clarke Hill

Even up to the closing moments of the by-election campaign in Batley and Spen, Labour campaigners were worried they would lose the seat.

Ultimately, of course, Labour held the seat and Kim Leadbeater was installed as the party’s newest MP. This gave Keir Starmer a much-needed boost and forestalled questions over his leadership of the party.

But was Starmer’s role ever truly under threat? In this video, the New Statesman‘s political editor Stephen Bush explains why the Labour leader’s position was more secure than some commentators assumed, and what a win in Batley and Spen means for Starmer and his party now.

Watch more video from the New Statesman on our YouTube channel.

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