Labour hammered in Hartlepool by-election as Starmer comes under pressure

Labour has suffered an historic defeat in yesterday’s Hartlepool by-election, with Boris Johnson’s Conservatives winning the constituency for the first ever time.

The Tories blitzed Labour in the by-election, winning by a staggering 23 points after losing the seat in the 2019 General Election.

The loss has already led to recriminations within the Labour party as Starmer comes under pressure from Corbyn loyalists to push the party further to the left.

New Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer, who beat out Labour’s Dr Paul Williams, said her campaign was “based on the local issues of real concern to the community” and that it was “a truly historic result and a momentous day”.

Hartlepool was held by Labour with a majority of 3,595 in 2019, even as other bricks in the red wall crumbled – in part due to the Brexit Party splitting the Tory vote.

Johnson and Starmer made three visits each during the campaign in a sign of the importance the by-election represents to their parties.

Starmer’s team were quick to admit that the defeat was a disaster, with a Labour source saying “Labour has not changed nearly enough for voters to place their trust in us” and that “Keir has said he will take responsibility for these results”.

“Labour now must accelerate the programme of change in our party, to win back the trust and faith of working people across Britain,” they said.

Labour Brighton and Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle was the first out of the blocks’ for the party’s left faction to pile the blame for the loss on Starmer.

He said: “Good to see valueless flag waving and suit wearing working so well … or not?”

Former shadow home secretary, and close Corbyn ally, Diane Abbott called for the party to return to the radical left-wing policies that delivered the party a landslide defeat in 2019.

“Not possible to blame Jeremy Corbyn for this result,” she said.

“Labour won the seat twice under his leadership. Keir Starmer must think again about his strategy.”

Shadow cabinet minister Thangam Debbonaire admitted the party’s message had not been cutting through.

“We’ve got a great team who cannot wait to be able to cut through more and I hear what people are saying, it’s not cutting through, I get that,” she told BBC’s Question Time.

“I think that’s a lesson for the Labour Party that we’re going to have to take into account,” Debbonaire added.

A member of Labour’s frontbench told City A.M. that there would likely be a shadow cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the result, but that alone wouldn’t fix the party’s problems.

“We need to show new leadership every single day and we need to be making that case every day,” they said.

Council results

Early results in council contests elsewhere also appeared to show voters deserting Labour, as ballots continue to be tallied up across England, Scotland and Wales following the Super Thursday polls – the largest test of political opinion outside a general election.

The Tories seized Redditch and Nuneaton & Bedworth councils in the Midlands from Labour, along with Harlow in Essex, while Sir Keir’s party saw heavy losses across North East local authorities.

Scottish election results

Over the coming days results elsewhere could have an even more dramatic influence on the state of the nation’s politics.

Results from the Holyrood election – where the issue of Scottish independence was a main feature in the campaign – will come through later on Friday and Saturday.

Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s push for a second independence referendum means the stakes are high in the Holyrood contest, with results expected to be announced on Friday and Saturday.

The SNP is expected to emerge again as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament after the election, but it wants to win an overall majority of MSPs as it pushes for a second independence referendum – something polls suggest remains in the balance.

Johnson has refused to countenance another referendum, setting up the potential for constitutional fireworks over the coming years if Ms Sturgeon gains the outcome she desires.

The SNP leader insisted her focus would be on tackling the coronavirus and rebuilding the economy.

But she said that “when the Covid crisis has passed, we will give the people of Scotland the opportunity to decide if they want the recovery to be in the hands of the likes of Boris Johnson and the austerity-driven Tories, or to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands with independence”.

Jenrick said: “We do not want to see Scotland, or indeed any part of the UK, now embroiled in a highly divisive and distracting constitutional wrangle.”

Results of the elections – which also include the Welsh Parliament, police and crime commissioners and English local authorities and mayors – are expected to continue filtering through until Monday as counting will take longer than normal due to coronavirus restrictions.

In Wales, Mark Drakeford hopes to maintain Labour’s grip on the Senedd – but he may find himself forced to forge a new coalition to stay as First Minister.

That could mean talks with Plaid Cymru, whose leader Adam Price has committed to an independence referendum within five years if his party wins a majority.