By-election: Welcome to Batley and Spen

<p>Tomorrow voters in Yorkshire’s Batley and Spen constituency head to the polls for the fourth time in five years. The previously safe Labour seat is under threat and this by-election is seen as a test of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. The Conservatives are hoping to win and could get a helping hand from former Labour MP George Galloway who is running for the Workers party and may split Labour's vote. Manveen Rana went to find out what was happening locally.</p><p><br></p><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe before June 29th and save 50% on your first 6 months at: </em><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/subscribe/digital/?utm_source=podcast&amp;utm_medium=audio&amp;utm_campaign=podcastsubs&amp;utm_content=storiesofourtimes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes</em></a><em>. </em></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guests:</strong>&nbsp;</p><p>-Tony Earnshaw, Democracy reporter at Yorkshire Live.</p><p>-George Galloway, Workers Party for Britain candidate.&nbsp;</p><p>-Julian Heather Liberal Democrat activist.</p><p>-Nadeem Raja, general manager of the Indian Muslim Welfare Society.</p><p>-Gulam maniyar, former Labour councillor.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Host:&nbsp;</strong>Manveen Rana.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Clips:</strong> Sky News, BBC News, Joe.co.uk, ITV News, Conservative Party</p><p><br></p><p><strong>The by-election candidates are (listed alphabetically by surname):</strong></p><p>Paul Bickerdike - Christian Peoples Alliance</p><p>Mike Davies - Alliance For Green Socialism</p><p>Jayda Fransen - Independent</p><p>George Galloway - Workers Party</p><p>Tom Gordon - Liberal Democrats</p><p>Thérèse Hirst - English Democrats</p><p>Howling Laud Hope - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party</p><p>Susan Laird - Heritage Party</p><p>Kim Leadbeater - Labour Party</p><p>Oliver Purser - Social Democratic Party</p><p>Corey Robinson - Yorkshire Party</p><p>Andrew Smith - Rejoin EU</p><p>Ryan