Who is Batley and Spen's new MP Kim Leadbeater?
Get the latest Yorkshire breaking news and updates delivered straight to your inbox - sign up for free email updates Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice  After a tight by-election campaign in Batley and Spen, Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater has emerged victorious by just 323 votes over Conservative challenger Ryan Stephenson. The 44-year-old's choice to stand for the Labour nomination back in May was somewhat unexpected, as she admitted she was "not a political animal". And the party's decision to select her as their candidate was somewhat controversial as it waived rules requiring candidates to be Labour members for at least a year before standing for selection. READ MORE:Live Covid-19 updates for Yorkshire as NHS makes plans for booster jabs in September  But Ms Leadbeater has delivered a somewhat unexpected win in a seat many believed the Tories would gain, her narrow victory likely helped by the fact she was the only one of the 16 by-election candidates to live in the constituency. The sister of murdered Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox, Ms Leadbeater was born and raised in Heckmondwike. Before her newfound political career she worked as a personal trainer and lecturer in physical health at Bradford College. To get the latest email updates from Yorkshire Live, click here . But since her sister's murder by a far-right extremist in June 2016 she stepped into the public eye as an ambassador for the Jo Cox Foundation set up in the wake of the MP's death. Ms Leadbeater is also leader of the More In Common Batley and Spen community group and received an MBE in the 2021 New Year's Honours for services to social cohesion, the community in Batley and Spen, and combatting loneliness during Covid-19. After a by-election was called for Batley and Spen following then-MP Tracy Brabin's election as Mayor of West Yorkshire in May, Ms Leadbeater announced she intended to stand for the Labour nomination. "The truth is, I have never really seen myself as a political animal, but I care deeply about the area where I was born and have always lived, and where the people are second to none," she said in a statement. "The prospect of the forthcoming by-election for Batley and Spen has affected me deeply in ways I really hadnt expected. "Ive had to do a lot of soul-searching and thinking about whats best for the place I love." Later that month the party chose Ms Leadbeater to defend the seat. She told party members in a hustings: "I'm the candidate the Tories fear." Though there was some controversy over her selection as she had only recently joined the party, a source close to her campaign claimed to YorkshireLive she is "Labour through and through". The campaign was tightly contested, with Tory candidate Mr Stephenson and former Bradford West MP George Galloway as Labour's closest competitors. At times it turned ugly, including an "intimidating" incident with hecklers over LGBT issues and claims from Ms Brabin that Labour activists had been "egged and kicked". But come July 2, Ms Leadbeater delivered a crucial victory for the party after its humiliating defeat to the Conservatives in May's Hartlepool by-election.