Fresh by-election woe for Keir Starmer as former Coronation Street actress MP Tracy Brabin becomes West Yorkshire mayor
KEIR Starmer faces fresh by-election woes as former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin has become mayor West Yorkshire.
Labour MP Brabin, will now have to stand down as Batley and Spen MP – triggering another by-election.
She received the most first and second preference votes, with a total of 310,923.
She beat second-place candidate – the Conservative’s Matt Robinson – by 101,786 votes.
Ms Brabin, who won the contest on her 60th birthday, becomes Labour’s 11th candidate to claim a mayoral post – after 13 elections in cities and metropolitan areas across England.
It comes after Boris Johnson spanked Sir Keir Starmer in “Super Thursday’s” elections — seizing the Red Wall jewel of Hartlepool and demolishing Labour across the country.
The humiliated leftie boss took “full responsibility” for the “bitterly disappointing” results as he desperately scrambled to save his leadership and party from extinction.
Brabin was elected to the House of Commons in a 2016 by-election, following the murder of Jo Cox.
Brabin has said she is “proud” to become the first mayor for the West Yorkshire region.
Following her election on Sunday evening, she said in a tweet: “We did it! I’m proud to be the first West Yorkshire Metro Mayor and I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for every single vote.
“I will fight for every single resident so everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Thank you.”
Brabin said it was a “historic day” as she made a speech following the declaration at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
She said: “It is an honour that I just can’t put into words to be standing in front of you today as the first ever metro mayor of our wonderful, dynamic, creative and diverse West Yorkshire region.”
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She thanked her agent, husband, daughters and campaign team and “the people of West Yorkshire”.
She said: “You came out and grasped the opportunity to, at long last, take decision making out of the hands of strangers in Whitehall and bring them closer to home to the people of West Yorkshire.
“Devolution is our opportunity to make West Yorkshire an even better place to live, work, study, raise a family, start a business and grow old.”