'This is shattering' Shadow communities and local government secretary, Steve Reed, says the Labour Party has to 'work much harder and faster' to reconnect with the British people after losing the key Hartlepool seat in the by-election. More reaction 👉
Results to trickle in from Wales and Scotland parliamentary elections, and more local and mayoral elections in England, through the weekend, with a clear picture by Sunday nightHartlepool result brings Labour's long-running infighting back into the openCriticism of Sir Keir Starmer is coming through loud and clear from the left of the Labour Party this morning.
He described the results in Hartlepool as"shattering" and turned the finger of blame towards the damage he claims was done to the party's reputation during Mr Corbyn's leadership. Giving a victory speech after the result, she said she was"immensely proud to be the first Conservative MP in Hartlepool for 57 years".
"Not possible to blame Jeremy Corbyn for this result. Labour won the seat twice under his leadership. Keir Starmer must think again about his strategy."Analysis by Tom Rayner, digital politics editor But according to Sky's election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher the largest percentage point increase for a governing party at a by-election since the war suggests the general election of December 2019"wasn't a flash in the pan" for the Conservatives.
Since the 2017 election analysts have talked about how UKIP had become a"gateway drug" for Labour voters who previously would never have considered voting Conservative previously. "Starmer's strategy of isolating the left and replacing meaningful policy with empty buzzwords has comprehensively failed.
We are used to seeing big swings in by-elections and this was a big swing. What we are not used to seeing is a big swing from the opposition to the governing party. The Conservatives have clearly taken a lot of the vote that used to go to Eurosceptics, UKIP, and they've also persuaded former Labour voters, again, to vote for them in local elections.
Sir Keir has insisted"this is a changed Labour Party" that is"under new leadership" to distance himself from the Corbyn projectThe town heavily backed Brexit and voters may well have been suspicious of a Labour leader who - despite wanting to move on from the rows over Europe - was closely associated with calls for a second referendumConservative Party co-chairman Amanda Milling reacts to the victory in Hartlepool.
Jill Mortimer, the newly elected Conservative MP for Hartlepool, called her by-election victory a"truly historic result". The by-election is one of a number of results expected over the coming days following"Super Thursday", with voters going to the polls in England, Scotland and Wales. But most counts, including those for the Scottish parliament and the Senedd in Wales, will start later today.
If Nicola Sturgeon is able to increase her party’s support, the issue of a second independence referendum and the future of the union will dominate all else, raising serious questions about how Boris Johnson will respond.This evening should also be the point at which it becomes clear whether first minister of Wales Mark Drakeford has led Labour to an outright majority, or whether he will need to form a coalition with another party, most likely Plaid Cymru.
So there will be a second round between her and the Conservative candidate James Hart, who got 28.5% of the votes in the first round of votes.It is looking like Labour is heading for a bad set of results. Sky's Lisa Dowd is there:"It's always a tight fight between Labour and the Conservatives here - a marginal council that has switched between the parties since the 1970s.The push back from the left against Starmer begins...
Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon, who led the Opposition party's campaign to hold the North East town, said it looked clear that Labour had not"got over the line". But it's hard to know where to start. In the North East the slide away from Labour began years ago, not months. It's not straightforward either and can't be explained away by Brexit or a pandemic vaccine boost.
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