Labor activists trying to get Jo Cox’s sister elected as an MP in her former constituency were ‘pelted with eggs and hit on the head’ during the election campaign, the local mayor said.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said she was handing out leaflets with “colleagues, volunteers and activists” in Batley on Sunday when they were “followed, verbally and physically assaulted” by a group of young men.
“The group I was with included young and old. I witnessed them being pushed and forced to the ground and kicked in the head,” she said.
West Yorkshire Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Mrs Brabin is campaigning for Kim leadbeater, the sister of the murdered Labor MP Jo cox, to replace her as MP for Batley and Spen.
A by-election was called when Ms Brabin became mayor of West Yorkshire last month.
She took over the Batley and Spen seat for the Labor Party after an acting career following Ms Cox’s death in 2016.
Commenting on the police response to the election campaign incident, Ms Brabin said: “We know why tensions are mounting on our streets. Those who want to sow division are not welcome in our community.
“The actions of these people don’t represent the Batleys and Spen I know. We’re nicer than that.”
Labor MP from neighboring Halifax headquarters Holly Lynch called the incident “unacceptable” and those behind it “lawless thugs seeking to intimidate and attack those involved in the appropriate democratic protest “.
It comes after Ms Leadbeater was filmed during the election campaign confronting a man about the situation in Kashmir and his stance on LGBT education in schools.
The video, which was shared widely on social media, shows the candidate being yelled at and heckled.
She asks the man why he was yelling at her in the street, before …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-27 23:02:00