with the deaths of 25 people. hello and welcome. the first major electoral test that borisjohnson has faced since winning the general election in 2019 looks likely to receive an early boost. a parlimentary by election in a traditional labour seat in the north east of england town of hartlepool might well have been won. it s the first significant result from a huge day of elections across the uk. here s our political correspondentjonathan blake. democracy delivered in hartlepool. the boats are in and with them, a verdict. for decades, labour has counted on this seat is one of its safest but now after taking so much of the party s territory in the general election two years ago, the conservatives are confident this too could be theirs. careful counting and socially distanced democracy in action is made for a long night but in the early hours, labour all but conceded defeat. conceded defeat. we haven t got over the line conceded defeat. we haven t got over the line tonight,
with them, a verdict. for decades, labour has counted on this seat as one of its safest, but now after taking so much of the party s territory in the general election two years ago, the conservatives are confident this too could be theirs. careful counting and socially distanced democracy in action has made for a long night but, in the early hours, labour all but conceded defeat. we haven t got over the line tonight, which is clearly disappointing. i think we had a good candidate, we had a solid campaign, one that had integrity and a good plan for hartlepool behind it but, ultimately, on the day, i just don t think we were able to get the numbers. across england, there are council elections at almost every layer of local government. counties, boroughs, districts and more. almost 5,000 seats being contested. in the north east, the conservatives gained seats on sunderland city council, eroding labour s once rocksolid hold. i think what we ve seen is that a lot of the ukip votes