When is the Batley and Spen by-election and which candidates are in the running to replace murdered Jo Cox as MP?
Voters will choose a new MP four months after the killing of Jo Cox shocked the nation
VOTERS will go to the polls next Thursday in the Yorkshire constituency Batley and Spen to select a new MP - four months after the killing of Jo Cox shocked the nation.
Labour's candidate, former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin, is almost certain to be elected after the other major parties decided not to field a candidate out of respect.
When is the Batley and Spen by-election and how can I vote?
The by-election takes place on October 20 - the same day as another by-election in Witney in Oxfordshire to replace former Prime Minister David Cameron, who is quitting the Commons.
As in a normal election, polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. Postal votes can be returned any time until that day.
Anyone who is on the electoral register is eligible to vote, but if you are not it is now too late - the deadline for new registrations was October 4.
Why is there a by-election in Batley and Spen?
The seat is vacant since the fatal gun and knife attack on Labour MP Jo Cox, 41, shortly before she was due to hold a constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds,yo on June 16.
It was the first killing of a sitting British MP for 26 years.
The mum-of-two and former Oxfam worker had been in Parliament for just 13 months after she took over from retired Labour MP Mike Wood at the 2015 general election.
Despite a national swing to the Conservatives, Mrs Cox won the seat with an increased majority for Labour, winning 6,057 more votes than the second-place Tory Imtiaz Ameen.
The killing came a week before the EU referendum, and shocked politicians suspended campaigning for two days out of respect.
Local man Thomas Mair, 53, has been charged with her murder and is due to go on trial in November.
Who are the candidates in the Batley and Spen by-election?
Ten candidates in total will contest the by-election - with Labour almost certain to win.
The Conservative Party said they would not field a candidate out of respect to Mrs Cox.
The Lib Dems, UKIP and the Green Party followed, effectively leaving the field clear for Labour to choose a successor.
Jo's widower Brendan ruled out standing himself, and the party began a selection process and on September 23 for soap actress Tracy Brabin, 55, was named the parliamentary candidate.
The ex-Corrie, EastEnders and Emmerdale star broke down in tears days later as tributes were paid to Mrs Cox at the Labour conference.
Nine fringe candidates including several from the far-right have thrown their hats in the ring for the high-profile by-election.
They include veteran Richard Edmonds of the neo-Nazi National Front. He came last at the Carshalton and Wallington 2015 general election with just 49 votes.
Another far-right group, the the British National Party, has put up its campaign organiser David Furness. He recently stood in the London Mayoral election but won just 0.5 per cent of votes
Therese Hirst, former leader of Robert Kilroy-Silk’s Veritas party, is standing for the English Democrats, which wants to split England from the rest of the UK.
Another right winger contesting the seat is 23-year-old Jack Buckby, who says he left the BNP because it was “becoming racist”.
He is the candidate for Liberty GB, a nationalist party that says it wants to “save Britain”.
Although UKIP is not fielding an official candidate, party member Waqas Ali Khan is standing as an independent.
Mr Khan, 27, who came third for UKIP at the 2015 general election in Shipley, said he is standing to oppose Mr Buckby, who he said would cause racial hatred and division in the constituency.
Another far-right candidate is Neil Humphrey of the English Independence Party.
The pro-hanging former English Democrat member has changed his name by deed poll so he will appear on ballot papers as “ANTI Corbyn – By-election Protest”.
Environmental campaigner Ankit Love, founder of the One Love Party, is also standing in Batley and Spen. He also stood in the London Mayoral Election and came last with 0.2 per cent of votes.
The only local candidate is Batley’s own Garry Kitchin who is standing as an independent.
He said he chose to run because “basic democratic principles mean that, in every constituency, people have the right to a full range of candidates to choose from when they select their MP.”
The final candidate is independent Henry Edmund Burke Mayhew.
Whoever wins is likely to be the last MP for Batley and Spen as the constituency will be abolished under boundary changes proposed for the 2020 general election.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368