It looks like the pretence that Kim Leadbeater is running her Batley & Spen campaign on local issues has finally gone out the window. In a new letter forwarded to Guido today, the Labour candidate claims she will be “a strong voice for Palestinian human rights and statehood”, and promises to “use [her] voice in Parliament to speak out against the injustice of the Israeli occupation“. From Batley & Spen, for Gaza & the Golan Heights…

Sources tell Guido that Labour activists circulated the letter across the Mount Pleasant area this morning – which happens to have a predominantly-Muslim population. Hardly surprising: Leadbeater’s already posted campaign leaflets outlining her position on Palestine/Kashmir, and Starmer stood at the despatch box to essentially beg for votes on the same topic. When Keir said he wasn’t embarrassed to wave the flag, who knew it would be the Palestinian flag? The disaster in Chesham and Amersham won’t have done much to calm their nerves…