Inside Politics: Labour triumphant in battle for Batley

Relief for Keir Starmer as Kim Leadbeater holds onto ‘red wall’ seat, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

We’ve got a bombshell update for you this morning. Yes, there will be a recoupling on tonight’s episode of Love Island. Phew! Could Keir Starmer begin patching up his relationship with Labour MPs? There is light relief for the leader this morning after the impressive Kim Leadbeater held Batley and Spen against the odds. Leadership challenge chatter is likely to subside now...until the next by-election, at least. Elsewhere, the master of fudge has been up to his old tricks again. Boris Johnson has promised that double jabs will be a “liberator” for foreign travel. But in almost the same breath, he said holidays would not be “hassle free”. Give us a break, prime minister?

Inside the bubble

Policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Reaction to the Batley and Spen by-election result will dominate the political agenda today: expect Labour figures to tour the studios giving their take on their party’s victory. Keir Starmer’s team is keen to get winning candidate Kim Leadbeater out on the airwaves over breakfast, while the Conservatives will likely be asked to explain why they couldn’t manage to win despite Boris Johnson showing up in person.

What to watch out for

- Labour MP Diane Abbott on Today at 8.20am

- Tory chair Amanda Milling on GMB at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

JUST ABOUT: As expected, the battle for Batley went right down to the wire. Ms Leadbeater hung on for Labour in the end. Although her majority is greatly reduced, the party is likely to spin this as a good result, given the circumstances and the fact that most people thought the Conservatives would nick the “red wall” seat. Tory candidate Ryan Stephenson came in second and George Galloway, standing for the Workers Party of Britain, came third in what was one of the most divisive by-elections in recent memory. “I’m absolutely delighted that the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and they’ve voted for hope,” Ms Leadbeater said in her victory speech. She is the sister of Jo Cox, Batley’s former MP who was murdered by a neo-Nazis during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.

BATTERED...AND SPENT?: “The hyena can dance on the lion’s grave, but it can never be a lion”. Those were the (bizarre, even for his standards) words of George Galloway in 2015 after he lost his Bradford West seat. The implication was that he was the king of the jungle, and his challengers in the constituency the hyenas. Six years later, there is still no roar from the lion, only meows after he came third in Batley. In a Trump-esque move, Galloway said in a speech at the count this morning he will apply to the court to have the result “set aside” amid claims of “defamation”. Good luck with that one. Elsewhere, Keir Starmer praised Labour’s newest MP. “Fantastic result for the brilliant and brave Kim Leadbeater,” he said. “Kim ran a positive campaign of hope, in the face of division. She will be an outstanding Labour MP for Batley and Spen.” What are the Tories saying? Blaming Matt Hancock and repeating the line that governments don’t win by-elections. Party chair Amanda Milling says the former health secretary’s conduct came up on the doors a lot. Oh dear.

GET BACK ... SORT OF: So how much freedom will we get on “freedom day”? Boris Johnson hopes England can get back to pre-pandemic normality, as far as is possible, on 19 July. But he threw some doubt over the day of liberation by saying some “extra precautions” may still be needed. Pressed on whether it could mean face masks and some social distancing staying in place after 19 July, Downing Street wouldn’t comment on “speculation”. Some members of cabinet are determined to see the PM throw off all curbs. “It all has to go,” one unnamed minister told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. Johnson also pleaded with everyone to be “patient” over school bubbles 48 Tory MPs wrote to him demanding he ditch the “disproportionate” and disruption bubble system. Despite all the disruption and uncertainty around, Johnson also promised that double jabs would be a “liberator” for foreign travel. But holidays would not be “hassle free”, he added.

SECRET SUMS: Boris Johnson has refused to say how much public money was used to support Nissan’s plans for a new “gigafactory” in the UK. The PM said the details were “confidential”. Reports put the subsidy at around £100m. The £1bn investment announced by Nissan has divided opinion – with Brexiteers claiming it’s a vote of confidence, and Remainers outraged at taxpayers footing part of the bill. Labour MP Chris Bryant asked: “How on earth can it be right that the government refuses to tell the public how much of their money has been gifted to Nissan?” But Ed Miliband, shadow business secretary, said Labour “warmly welcomes” the investment announcement. Meanwhile, the Brexiteering DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been rocked by the resignation of a Stormont MLA. Alex Easton quit the DUP – citing a lack of “respect, discipline or decency” in the party. “I’ve just had enough,” he said. I think Sir Jeffrey probably feels that way too.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Looks like those who wrote off Matt Hancock’s political future went off half-cocked, so to speak. Despite facing deselection calls, Hancock has been backed by his West Suffolk constituency party. One West Suffolk Tory councillor had asked colleagues to deselect the “selfish” MP – disgusted at the CCTV footage showing “tongues everywhere”. But West Suffolk Conservative Association (WSCA) said Hancock still had its support. “Matt has given us a heartfelt apology,” the WSCA said. Political journalist Isabel Oakeshott has claimed she was sent a “single still image” of the CCTV footage one week beforeThe Sun. But Oakeshott didn’t believe that the image was real and decided to pass. Doh! It comes as a Tory MP got into a heated row over the location of his own constituency, insisting the seat is in Essex – despite the fact it sits within the London Borough of Havering. “Romford is Essex!,” wrote Andrew Rosindell in a Twitter spat with a BBC editor.

On the record

“Obviously I want travel to be possible, but I’ve got to stress … People shouldn’t expect that it will be completely hassle free.”

Boris Johnson says hassle will be part of the holiday experience in 2021.

From the Twitterati

“[Remainers] said Nissan would leave if we voted for Brexit. Nissan hasn’t left. So then they say, “Aha! But they’re only staying because of massive bribes!!!”. But that’s not what we were told at the time. We were told “Nissan will leave”.”

Mail on Sunday’s Dan Hodges notes Nissan’s investment deal…

“To be fair, Nissan suggested Nissan would leave!”

…before The Mirror’s Pippa Crerar points out the obvious.

Essential reading

• John Rentoul, The Independent: A change of leader is the wrong answer - Labour’s troubles go deeper
• Cathy Newman, The Independent: Matt Hancock’s political comeback is entirely possible
• Daniel Trilling, The Guardian: Millions of our neighbours have become foreigners
• James Forsyth, The Spectator: How Boris Johnson plans to reopen the country