What went wrong for the Tories in Batley and Spen? That’s the question Conservative MPs are asking after the party failed to win the seat from Labour in yesterday’s by-election. In a way, it’s a strange question to ask. The seat has been Labour since 1997 and wasn’t seen as a key target by Conservative Campaign Headquarters ahead of the 2019 election. It isn’t an obvious potential Tory gain. Yet after George Galloway decided to stand, the general consensus among pollsters, pundits and Conservative MPs was that the Tory party was on course to win it.
Tory MPs were tripping over themselves to reference Batley and Spen at Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions
As a result, Labour clinging on to the seat by just 323 votes is being heralded as a huge triumph for Keir Starmer while government ministers are being asked on the airwaves why they fell short. Party chairman Amanda Milling told Sky News that former health secretary Matt Hancock’s breach of Covid rules was ‘something that came up on the doorstep’.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in