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Hartlepool constituency | |||
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Location of Hartlepool within former Cleveland | |||
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The 2021 Hartlepool by-election is a by-election to be held in the UK parliamentary constituency of Hartlepool following the resignation of the sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Mike Hill. It will be held on 6 May 2021 alongside local elections.[1] The seat is considered to be in the Red wall, a set of constituencies that historically supported the Labour Party but where the party is being challenged by increasing Conservative support.[2]
This will be the first by-election to the 58th parliament, which was elected in 2019.[3] The 21-month gap between the last by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire in August 2019 and the polling day of the by-election in Hartlepool will be the longest since World War II.[4]
Background
Constituency
Hartlepool, named after the town of the same name, has been held by the Labour Party since 1964. The seat includes the town of Hartlepool itself and the nearby villages of Hart, Elwick, Greatham, Newton Bewley and Dalton Piercy.
In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, the Hartlepool Council area, which covers the same area as the constituency, voted 69.6% to 30.4% to leave the European Union (EU).[5]
History
Former MPs have included Royal Navy officer John Kerans and former cabinet minister Peter Mandelson.[6]
The 2004 by-election saw a huge swing to the Liberal Democrats, while the UK Independence Party came in a close second place at the 2015 general election.
Hill is due to face an employment tribunal later in the year following allegations of sexual harassment and victimisation.[3] Hill was suspended from the Labour Party in September 2019 over allegations of sexual harassment but reinstated in October 2019.[7] In January 2020 Hill's request for anonymity was turned down in an upcoming employment tribunal related to the accusations. The alleged victim stated that she had also made a report to the Metropolitan Police at the time of the original accusations.[8] On 16 March 2021, Hill announced his resignation with immediate effect.[3]
Candidates and timetable
The following candidates have been reported as intending to stand. The full list of successful nominations is due out later.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDP | David Bettney[9] | ||||
North East | Hilton Dawson[10] | ||||
Women's Equality | Gemma Evans[11] | ||||
Conservative | Jill Mortimer | ||||
NIP | Thelma Walker[a][12] | ||||
Labour | Paul Williams[13] | ||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout |
NHS doctor and former MP Paul Williams was selected on 18 March as the Labour candidate.[14] Williams represented the nearby constituency of Stockton South but lost his seat at the 2019 election.[15] He had been standing for the position of Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, to be elected in May 2021, but withdrew from that contest in order to run in Hartlepool.[16] Labour was criticised for the conduct of its selection process, which gave candidates one day to submit application papers. An unnamed Labour MP accused Labour's leadership of a "stitch-up", and alleged that the speed of Labour's selection had disadvantaged local party members.[17] Labour leader Keir Starmer said that the local party had written to Labour headquarters to identify Williams as their preferred choice.[18] While Williams was a vocal advocate of a second referendum on EU membership, the constituency of Hartlepool supported Brexit by almost 70%, leading to criticism after he deleted his pro-EU tweets before his candidacy.[19]
On 17 March, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) announced their intention to stand a candidate.[20] The same day, the Northern Independence Party announced their intention to contest the by-election.[21] Later in March they selected as their candidate former Labour MP Thelma Walker, who represented the West Yorkshire constituency of Colne Valley but lost her seat at the 2019 election.[22]
On 18 March, Reform UK Leader Richard Tice, who contested the seat in 2019, told LBC that the party intends to stand a candidate.[23]
On 20 March, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) announced that they intend to stand in the by-election.[24] On 29 March, the SDP announced that its candidate would be David Bettney, a former regimental sergeant major in the Light Dragoons.[25] On 22 March, Gemma Evans from the Women's Equality Party expressed her intention to stand.[26] On 24 March, the North East Party announced that former Labour MP and founding party member Hilton Dawson would be their candidate for the by-election.[27]
On 26 March, the Conservative Party selected farmer and Hambleton District Cllr Jill Mortimer as their candidate in the by-election.[28][29] She was previously the Conservative candidate in Leeds East at the 2019 election.
Campaign
During the by-election campaign, Labour candidate Paul Williams apologised for previously posting a tweet using the term "Tory MILFs" in 2011.[30] He was defended by the Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, while Labour peer and former shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti called for him to be replaced "immediately".[31]
Opinion polls
Part of a MRP projection with other constituencies
Pollster | Client | Date(s) conducted |
Sample size |
Lab | Con | Ref UK | Lib Dem | Green | Others | Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
data-sort-type="number" style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color;"| | data-sort-type="number" style="background:Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color;"| | data-sort-type="number" style="background:Template:Reform UK/meta/color;"| | data-sort-type="number" style="background:Template:Liberal Democrats (UK)/meta/color;"| | data-sort-type="number" style="background:Template:Green Party of England and Wales/meta/color;"| | ||||||
Focaldata | The Times | 18–21 Mar 2021 | 5,265[b] | 39% | 36% | 9% | 3% | 7% | 6% | style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 3% |
2019 general election | 12 Dec 2019 | – | 37.7% | 28.9% | 25.8% | 4.1% | – | 3.4% | style="background:Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 8.8% |
2019 result
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Mike Hill | 15,464 | 37.7 | -14.8 | |
Conservative | Stefan Houghton | 11,869 | 28.9 | -5.3 | |
Brexit Party | Richard Tice | 10,603 | 25.8 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Andy Hagon | 1,696 | 4.1 | +2.3 | |
Independent | Joe Bousfield | 911 | 2.2 | N/A | |
Socialist Labour | Kevin Cranney | 494 | 1.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,595 | 8.8 | -9.5 | ||
Turnout | 41,037 | 57.9 | -1.3 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | -4.8 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Walker intends to stand for the Northern Independence Party, which is not yet registered with the Electoral Commission and will only appear on ballot if registered[citation needed]
- ^ across 83 constituencies within the North
References
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna (16 March 2021). "Mike Hill quits as Labour MP for Hartlepool with immediate effect". LabourList. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hartlepool-byelection-labour-paul-williams-b1819503.html
- ^ a b c "Mike Hill: Hartlepool MP quits 'with immediate effect'". BBC News. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "New post-war record for longest period since parliamentary by-election". The New European. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ Singh, Matt [@MattSingh_] (16 March 2021). "#Hartlepoolbyelection fun fact: The seat is coterminous with the council area, so we know the exact EU referendum result (69.56833% Leave 30.43167% Remain)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Anderson, Katie (17 March 2021). "From war hero to 'Prince of darkness': Hartlepool MPs timeline". TeessideLive. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ Press Association (22 September 2019). "Labour MP Mike Hill suspended over claims of sexual harassment". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ Quinn, Ben (22 January 2020). "Labour MP accused of sexual assault fails in anonymity bid". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ "SDP candidate at Hartlepool by-election promises to work 'night and day' for town if elected". Hartlepool Mail. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "The North East Party Reveals Hilton Dawson as Hartlepool By-election Candidate". Sunderland Global Media. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Tidman, Zoe (22 March 2021). "'We can't let politicians get away with inaction': Hartlepool by-election candidate demands action on tackling violence against women and girls". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Batchelor-Hunt, Nadine (27 March 2021). "Meet the The Northern Independence Party: We're planning on taking all of Labour's seats in the North". joe.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Labour unveils ex-Stockton South MP for Hartlepool seat". BBC News. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ Labour North [@LabourNorth] (18 March 2021). "Congratulations to Dr Paul Williams, Labour's candidate for Hartlepool" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Blackburne, Elaine (18 March 2021). "Former MP Dr Paul Williams will fight for Labour in by-election". TeessideLive. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ "Labour unveils ex-Stockton South MP for Hartlepool seat". 18 March 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Proctor, Kate (17 March 2021). "Labour Accused Of A Candidate 'Stitch-Up' Over Hartlepool By-Election Timetable". Politics Home. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Courea, Eleni (22 March 2021). "Keir Starmer rebukes Labour's Hartlepool by-election candidate". The Times. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ McGuinness, Alan (18 March 2021). "Dr Paul Williams announced as Labour's candidate for Hartlepool by-election after resignation of Mike Hill". Sky News.
- ^ "UKIP To Contest Hartlepool Seat After Labour MP Stands Down". politicalite. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "North of England independence party to stand in Hartlepool by-election". Nation.Cymru. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Ex-MP to stand for Northern Independence party in by-election". BBC News. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ McNulty, Tim (18 March 2021). "Richard Tice 'actively considering' Reform UK run in Hartlepool by-election". Daily Express. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ Ledwith, Gavin (20 March 2021). "'Together we will break the stranglehold of the two-party system' says latest party to join by-election battle". The Hartlepool Mail. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "SDP candidate at Hartlepool by-election promises to work 'night and day' for town if elected". Hartlepool Mail. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ Tidman, Zoe (22 March 2021). "'We can't let politicians get away with inaction': Hartlepool by-election candidate demands action on tackling violence against women and girls". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "North East Party reveals Hilton Dawson as Hartlepool By-Election Candidate". Sunderland Global Media. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "Conservatives announce Jill Mortimer as candidate for Hartlepool by-election". The Northern Echo. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Farmer to stand for Conservatives in Hartlepool by-election". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Paul Williams: Labour candidate sorry for 'inappropriate' tweet". 21 March 2021 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Sleigh, Sophia (22 March 2021). "Starmer defends Hartlepool candidate after 'inappropriate' comment". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ "Hartlepool Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.