Parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool as Labour MP quits
Labour MP Mike Hill’s resignation means there will be a Parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool.
Hartlepool was the scene of a particularly unpleasant by-election back in the New Labour days. Labour just held off the Liberal Democrats after a remarkably scurrilous campaign, which included attacking the then Lib Dem deputy leader Ming Campbell over some of the clients he’s represented in court. As a QC, Campbell followed the ‘cab rank’ rule which means everyone, however wonderful or horrible, gets the chance of proper legal representation. It’s a bit of equality baked into the legal system that you would have thought chimed with Labour’s values… but that didn’t stop Campbell being attacked over it.
Labour also won the by-election on a promise to save the local hospital. A promise that was broken. To his credit, this did lead to the Labour MP quitting the government, though not resigning his seat.
This time around the focus is going to be much more on the seat now being part of the so-called ‘Red Wall’ (sort of). Although Labour won the seat in 2019, between them the Conservatives and the Brexit Party polled over 50%.
The Liberal Democrat vote was back on the up in the seat last time out, rising from 2% to 4%.
P.S. Chapeau, Alexander Brown:
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In seeking some balance in Mark’s comments, I seem to remember it was a by-election where the Lib Dems got 34.2% and came within 2,000 votes of winning the seat.
So being ‘back on the up’ from 2% to 4% leaves an almighty to be climbed. Whatever happened to get it down to 2% ?
It was also a by-election where Charles Kennedy had just come back from one of his now well known ‘difficulties’, having been ‘unable’ to attend the Budget debate….. In fairness I don’t recall Labour making much of this.
The most important information about Hartlepool is that the people there are known as ‘monkey hangers’.
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Hanging-of-the-Hartlepool-Monkey/
Stuart Drummond a.k.a. H’Angus the Monkey, who was mascot of the local football team and campaigned successfully for Mayor with the slogan ‘free bananas for schoolchildren’.