Batley and Spen: Keir Starmer's last chance?
The Owen Jones Podcast
Owen Jones
4.4 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 25 June 2021
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Weeks after losing Hartlepool to the Tories, Labour has another major test in the Batley and Spen by-election. This is the constituency once represented by Jo Cox - murdered by a far right terrorist in 2016 - and it's a diverse community. But many voters feel disillusioned with the current main opposition, not least British Muslims, 86% of whom voted Labour nationally in 2019 but who feel that loyalty is not reciprocated. With the controversial George Galloway standing, some are determined to vote for him to give Labour a bloody nose. How much further does Labour's electoral coalition have to fragment as its naturally most loyal voters feel taken for granted?
I visit the constituency to speak to everyone from George Galloway to Andy Burnham - presumed to be a likely successor as Labour leader - to Kim Leadbeater, Labour's candidate, to local voters to work out what's happening to the opposition - and where that leaves our crisis-stricken country.
Videographer: Jack Barraclough.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, this is Aaron Jones, welcome to the podcast. So I went to Batley and Spen. It's a West Yorkshire |
| 0:06.0 | currently Labour held constituency and I went there because there's a by-election coming up |
| 0:11.2 | and it's a big big test for Labour. It will help decide the future of the party and with it the |
| 0:16.1 | country as well. Now this was kept this seat in the 2017 election over half the electorate voted |
| 0:23.2 | for Labour. That fell in the 2019 election in Thurno but was still kept with a sizeable majority |
| 0:30.0 | but now Labour fear they're in big big trouble and in large part that's because local Muslim voters |
| 0:35.3 | are disillusioned. 86% of British Muslims voted for the Labour Party in 2019. Bear in mind there are |
| 0:42.7 | over 3 million Muslims living in Britain so they're a big big part of Labour's electoral coalition. |
| 0:48.6 | So I want to understand their disillusionment, their anger, what Labour can do to win the back if |
| 0:53.5 | anything. Is this a long-term permanent problem for the Labour Party? Muslim voters who feel |
| 0:59.7 | completely taken for granted, much like it has to be said, other loyal Labour voters have also felt |
| 1:07.1 | completely taken for granted and taken their votes elsewhere. Now I speak to everyone from Andy |
| 1:12.4 | Burnham to George Galloway who's a very controversial figure to Kim Leadbeater who's the local |
| 1:19.4 | Labour candidate but really importantly local people to hear about their own thoughts. |
| 1:25.3 | So if you want to support these documentaries which take a huge amount of time in energy do |
| 1:29.5 | support us on patreon.com, full slash Owen Jones 84, a team who are paid because of your support |
| 1:37.2 | have done an incredible job. I hope you'll agree. You can use the support function as well for one |
| 1:41.6 | off donations. Do live is a rating, a review if you feel so well inclined but with that, |
| 1:47.7 | enjoy the documentary, I hope you get a lot out of it. |
| 1:51.9 | It was a day of horror. Five years ago amidst the heightened tensions of the referendum campaign, |
| 1:57.8 | Joe Cox, the newly elected Labour MP for badly in spend, was assassinated by a far out terrorist. |
| 2:04.8 | It was an acute trauma for much of the country but no one more so than here, the West York |
... |
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