Can Starmer reverse the horror of Hartlepool? spectator.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectator.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sir Keir Starmer suffered a bad night in elections. Credit: PA
The Tory victory in Hartlepool, with a swing of 16% and the biggest increase in a governing party s vote in any by-election since 1945, is a terrible blow to Labour hopes that the choice of Sir Keir Starmer would soon stem their rot.What happened in what was a safe Labour seat - it was Peter Mandelson s in New Labour s heyday - is that voters who backed the Brexit Party in 2019 switched to the Tories. According to the election analyst Matt Singh, if that sort of shift were repeated in other seats where the Brexit Party made an impact, then more than 20 Labour MPs would lose their seats - including leading figures like Yvette Cooper, Ed Miliband and Jon Cruddas.So it is little surprise that Labour and Starmer are already being ever so humble, saying they know people don t want to hear excuses and that he will take responsibility for fixing it .
Two Hull MPs could lose seats to Conservatives in Labour wipeout, new study shows
Research highlighted by Peston on ITV show reveals Hull Labour MPs could be wiped out by collapse in Brexit party vote
Updated
Karl Turner and Emma Hardy could lose their seats if a huge trend in voting Tories is repeated in Hull
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