Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Batley and Spen since 2021, will seek to represent the new constituency of Spen Valley after her seat was split into two in the proposed boundary change review.

She said that she would not be standing for the other seat of Dewsbury and Batley, as she is “Spen Valley born and bred”.

“For me it has always been important to represent the place I am from and the people I live amongst and have done all my life,” she added.

“Many of my political colleagues have said that the choice is obvious, that I should go for whatever is the ‘safest’ seat.

“But that’s not me. This is not just a political decision – it’s very personal. I promised at the by-election that I wanted to change politics and not let politics change me.”

Ms Leadbeater won the seat in 2021 after Tracy Brabin stood down from her role as MP to become the new mayor of West Yorkshire.

She is also the sister of Jo Cox, the Labour MP who was murdered during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.

Kim Leadbeater: Yorkshire MP seeks to represent new seat in next election