Despite previously confirming her attendance, Kim Leadbeater pulled out of a Batley & Spen by-election hustings over the weekend just half an hour before it was scheduled to begin. Kim’s more than happy to love bomb constituents with leaflets and letters about Palestine, though when it comes to actually speaking to them, things aren’t so easy…

Given the debate was hosted in front of a predominantly-Muslim audience, Leadbeater’s absence wasn’t exactly timely: the next morning Dan Hodges in the Mail on Sunday published quotes from a senior Labour source claiming the party is “haemorrhaging votes among Muslim voters“, with Starmer’s personal favourability with the voter bloc in free-fall.

This quote has gone down badly with the Muslim Council of Britain, their spokesperson, Miqdaad Versi, says:

“Those who have tried to understand have identified many local issues as well as Labour positions on Palestine, Kashmir and Islamophobia – and being seen to take Muslim voters for granted. If advisors to the Labour leader don’t get this, they shouldn’t be talking about it. Any senior Labour official who tells media that Muslims are not voting Labour because Muslims support antisemitism should be sacked. No ifs, no buts.”

In the course of a weekend, Labour somehow managed to attract accusations of Islamophobia and antisemitism without breaking a sweat. Ten days until the vote…