The Batley and Spen by-election was one of the dirtiest of recent years. And one of the less predictable. A Survation poll had suggested a comfortable Conservative lead over Labour, with George Galloway losing his deposit. In the end, Labour unexpectedly held the seat, in a way that tells us about the atomisation of British politics.
Batley and Spen, a patchwork of different towns and villages, showed its independent streak by failing to conform to expectations – or its nearby seats. On the one hand, the Conservatives hoped to repeat their success in neighbouring Morley and Outwood, where a once-safe Labour seat turned out Ed Balls six years ago, and has since turned solidly Conservative. On the other hand, Galloway hoped to repeat his sensational 2012 by-election upset in nearby Bradford West. Both were disappointed.
The Galloway intervention
In the event, the result was thrown into turmoil by the intervention of Galloway. The firebrand left-winger is not the electoral force he once was. After a picaresque parliamentary career representing three constituencies in Glasgow, London and Bradford (after starting as a councillor in Dundee), the former MP has become something of an also-ran in recent elections. In the past five years, he barely held his deposit (polling 5.7%) in Manchester Gorton and has lost deposits in London, West Bromwich East and South Scotland. Sealing his reputation for improbable transitions, Galloway raised eyebrows when he endorsed the conservative Brexit Party in 2019.
