LABOUR has suffered a huge election defeat in Hartlepool as the polls picked a new MP after the resignation of Mike Hill.
But who were the candidates and who won the by-election? Here’s all you need to know…
Who won the Hartlepool by-election?
Jill Mortimer was revealed as the new MP on Friday, May 7.
The Conservative hopeful saw off the competition in the shape of 15 other candidates and scooped the win with a huge majority – receiving 15,529 of the votes.
The North Yorkshire councillor and farmer is the first woman to hold the position, and the first Tory MP for the constituency since the seat was formed in 1974.
Labour’s Paul Williams wound up in second, receiving 8,589 votes.
Coming up in third was Independent Sam Lee who got 2,904 votes.
When was the Hartlepool by-election?
The Hartlepool by-election was held on May 6, 2021.
It came alongside other local elections.
The results were revealed shortly after 7am on May 7.
Who were the candidates?
Former MP and GP Paul Williams was named as the Labour candidate.
Dr Williams previously represented the nearby constituency of Stockton South from 2017.
However he lost this position to Conservative candidate Matt Vickers in 2019.
Before he was named as the party’s preferred candidate, he had been due to stand for the position of Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner in the local elections.
He recently caused controversy, when a tweet he wrote in 2011 with slur made about a senior Cabinet Minister was uncovered.
North Yorkshire councillor and farmer Jill Mortimer stood for the Conservative party – and won.
In 2019 she was the Conservative candidate in Leeds East at the 2019 election – but she lost out to Labour former shadow minister Richard Burgon.
For the North East Party, former Labour MP Hilton Dawson was named as the candidate.
He is chair of the party founded 2014.
He was also the Labour member for Lancaster and Wyre from 1997 until 2005.
However he then stepped down to work in children’s services.
Meanwhile the Northern Independence Party selected former Labour MP Thelma Walker as its candidate.
She is the ex-member for Colne Valley – who lost her seat in 2019.
The Social Democratic Party, the Women’s Equality Party, the Green Party and the Lib Dems also stood candidates, as well as other parties.
Why was there a by-election in Hartlepool?
The by-election came after Mike Hill, who was suspended by the party in 2019 over claims he harassed a woman, stepped down from the Commons.
Mr Hill denies the allegations, which will be heard at a tribunal in May this year.
The decision has sparked a by-election battle in the Northern seat, and will be a key test for whether Labour can hold on to the spot.
Sir Keir Starmer has been struggling in the polls to get ahead, as the PM experiences a huge poll bounce over the rollout of the vaccine.
The Tory candidate missed out by just over 3,000 votes in the 2019 poll, but the vote was split heavily by the Brexit Party who raked in thousands of votes too.
The Conservatives will have a decent shot at taking the seat and turning it blue.
An investigation was ordered after a complaint was filed to officials into backbencher Mr Hill, HOAR revealed in 2019.
The alleged female victim has also contacted the police over her claims.
Hill, 57, was elected as the MP for Hartlepool in 2017.
