George Galloway’s pre-election prediction that Labour will come third in the Batley and Spen by-election has been making the rounds on social media.
The Workers Party of Britain leader failed to make the impact he was hoping for yesterday after voters “rejected division” and “voted for hope”.
Kim Leadbeater won the West Yorkshire seat with a majority of just 323 – down from the 3,525 vote cushion the party had in 2019 – but the result was a surprise after opinion polls put the Tories in the lead and Labour insiders had feared the worst.
The victory will ease the pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who was fiercely targetted by Galloway and faced questions about his leadership after the loss of Hartlepool in a by-election in May, and will boost morale within Labour.
Ms Leadbeater secured the seat with 13,296 votes, with Tory Ryan Stephenson on 12,973 and Galloway in third with 8.264.
The result means Ms Leadbeater now represents the seat previously held by her sister Jo Cox, who was murdered in the constituency in 2016.
In the aftermath of the election, a video of Galloway saying he will “eat his hat” if Labour don’t come in third place has been making the rounds on social media.
Watch the footage in full below:
Related: Reaction as Leadbitter wins nail biter in Batley and Spen
