Hopes of a Labor revival under Sir Keir Starmer took a heavy blow after the Conservative Party comfortably won Hartlepool’s by-election.
The Party-supporting North East constituency turned blue for the first time in its 47-year history, when Boris Johnson demolished another brick in Labor’s so-called “red wall”.
Voters in town backed Tory candidate Jill Mortimer to be their next MP against Dr Paul Williams of Labor – a leftover enthusiast and second referendum activist when he was MP for Stockton South from 2017-19 – in a rare partial electoral victory for a party in power for more than a decade.
The Tory, who said it was a “truly historic result,” won a majority of 6,940, winning 15,529 votes to Dr Williams’ 8,589.
Ms Mortimer told her supporters: “I will work tirelessly for Hartlepool and I will not let you down, I will not disappoint you.”
The defeat was reported by senior figures hours before the official announcement, with shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon telling Sky News shortly before 3 a.m. that his party was “not about to win”.
The result will be a setback for Sir Keir, who succeeded Jeremy Corbyn as opposition leader four months after the party’s disastrous performance in the 2019 general election with the promise of turning him into a winning force.
This will likely mean questions about the strategy he has pursued as leader over the past year, with mainstream Labor voters apparently continuing to shy away from the party in the wake of Brexit.
Early results of council contests after the Super Thursday elections appeared to show voters deserting Labor, with Tories taking over the councils of Redditch and Nuneaton & Bedworth in the Midlands, as well as Harlow in Essex, while Sir Keir’s party suffered heavy losses in local authorities in the North East.
A Labor source said Sir Keir would “take responsibility for these results” and “fix” the party’s electoral problems.
Prominent figures from the left wing of the party were quick to criticize the result and the approach taken.
Former shadowy Home Secretary Diane Abbott tweeted: “It is not possible to blame Jeremy Corbyn for this result. Labor has won the seat twice under his leadership.
“Keir Starmer needs to rethink his strategy.”
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick had sought to pressure the prime minister’s rival ahead of the statement, telling Sky News that “if it’s even close I would say it’s a really serious indictment of Keir Starmer ”.
Shadow cabinet minister Thangam Debbonaire admitted the party’s new message was not “cutting”.
Alex Norris, shadow minister of public health, denied the loss was Sir Keir’s responsibility and pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic was a factor in the lack of progress in polls under his leadership.
“Throughout the period Keir has been the leader, we’ve been in a global pandemic and he hasn’t been able to make a public appearance yet,” he told Sky News.
“So actually I think he did a great job connecting the way he did it, and we have more to do.
Hartlepool was held by Labor with a majority of 3,595 in 2019, even as other bricks in the Red Wall crumbled – in part because of the Brexit party’s sharing of the Conservative vote.
Mr Johnson and Sir Keir both made three visits during the campaign, a sign of how important the by-election was to their parties.
A Labor source said: ‘We have said that all along the North East and Midlands will be difficult.
“But the message from the voters is clear and we have heard it – the Labor Party has not yet changed enough for the voters to place their trust in us.
“We understand that. We are listening. And now we will redouble our efforts.
“People don’t want to hear excuses. Keir has said he will take responsibility for these results – and will take responsibility for fixing it and changing the Labor Party for the better.
Following Hartlepool’s statement, attention will turn to the results elsewhere as ballots continue to be counted across England, Scotland and Wales in the biggest test of political opinion outside of a general election.
The results of the Holyrood election – where the question of Scottish independence was a main feature of the campaign – will be released later on Friday and Saturday.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon’s push for a second independence referendum means the stakes are high in the competition.
The SNP is set to emerge again as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament after the election, but it wants to win an overall majority of MPs as it pushes for a second vote on the Union split – something which the polls, remains in the balance. .
Mr Johnson refused to accept another poll, opening up the possibility of constitutional fireworks over the next few years if Ms Sturgeon gets the result she wants.
Election results – which also include the Welsh Parliament, Police and Crime Commissioners and England …
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Source: www.thestar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-07 11:51:57
