Labour confirms sister of murdered MP Jo Cox to stand in byelection

LABOUR party has announced that sister of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox has been chosen to stand in an upcoming byelection in northern England.

Kim Leadbeater, 44, will contest in Batley and Spen, the Yorkshire constituency where her late sister represented at the time of her death in 2016.

When Cox was on her way to meet constituents in the town of Birstall, she was shot and stabbed multiple times by a far-right man during the febrile campaign ahead of Britain's referendum on leaving the European Union.

Cox was the first female lawmaker to be murdered in the UK and the first MP murdered since the IRA assassination of Ian Gow in 1990.

"I feel passionately about the strength there is in such a diverse constituency," Leadbeater said.

The need for a byelection in the northern seat was required by the departure of the incumbent Labour MP Tracy Brabin after she was elected the first mayor of West Yorkshire during local elections earlier this month.

The upcoming poll in a traditional constituency would prove to be another crucial test for Labour leader Keir Starmer, after the party lost a byelection in Hartlepool earlier this month.

"Batley and Spen holds an important place in the Labour Party's heart. And Kim's work to bring people together, just as her sister Jo Cox did, has inspired us all," Starmer said.

He added Leadbeater would be a "fantastic champion" for the constituency.