General election results 2024: Shock win in Dewsbury and Batley among general election results which also saw Labour win in Spen Valley
Dewsbury and Batley now have an Independent MP while Labour won in the Spen Valley in the general election.
The Dewsbury and Batley seat was taken by Independent Iqbal Mohamed who won a sizable majority, with almost 7,000 votes separating him and runner-up Labour candidate Heather Iqbal.
Next was Reform’s Johnathan Robert Thackray with 6,152 votes, followed by the Conservatives’ candidate, Lalit Raghunath Suryawanshi, with 4,182.
Simon John Cope gained 2,048 votes for the Greens, and finally, the Lib Dems’ John Edward Rossington took 1,340 votes.
In his victory speech, the newly-elected MP said: “Dewsbury and Batley are no longer shackled to a failed party system that has dominated our towns for far too long.
"This is our opportunity to speak without fear, without favour, and with absolute honesty.”
In the Spen Valley, Kim Leadbeater took the seat for Labour.
A by-election in 2021 saw Kim Leadbeater clinch the Batley and Spen seat with a narrow victory of just a few hundred votes, taking over from Tracy Brabin who stood down to become Mayor of West Yorkshire.
This time, standing for the recently-established ward, Kim’s majority certainly was not slim, with the MP taking 16,076 votes.
In second place was Reform’s Sarah Louise Wood who took 9,888 of the votes, with the Conservatives coming closely in third with Laura Kathryn Evans on 9,859.
Next up were the Greens with Sean Price taking 2,284 votes, followed by Independent Javed Bashir with 1,526 and Lib Dem Alison Brelsford with 1,425.
Kim Leadbeater said: “I can commit myself here and now to work for every town and village across our beautiful area with every ounce of energy I have – and as many people know, that’s quite a lot.
"To the people of Spen Valley – thank you for putting your trust in me and for believing that we can change things for the better. Not just here but across the country.”