UK: Labour sends its top guns to defend crucial byelection town

[RandySF]

Dozens of Labour MPs and shadow ministers have poured into Hartlepool before the town’s crucial byelection, as Keir Starmer’s party tries desperately to defend its traditional northern stronghold from the Tories.

With numbers of activists restricted by Covid-19 measures, a string of high-profile Labour names, led by Starmer himself, have visited – a sign of the party’s determination to prevent what would be seen as a damaging reversal if the Conservatives were to seize it on 6 May.

Campaigning was suspended over the weekend following the death of Prince Philip, but MPs returning from the north-east said it had been like a convention of the parliamentary party in the town. “Activists can only come on day visits,” said one MP. “Normally we have a big presence of activists here. Instead it is the MPs who are able to come and stay overnight in hotels or B&Bs, which are open for essential workers.

Labour has held the town since 1964 but its share of the vote has dropped in recent years to leave a majority of just over 3,500. The Brexit party won 26% of the vote at the last election, which many Labour insiders believe allowed their party to retain the seat from the Tories. However, with Brexit down the agenda, a senior Labour source said Labour would do “very well” to hold on this time.

While many have regarded the contest as a test for Labour in the so-called “red wall” post-industrial seats it lost to the Tories, the town’s economy has evolved. Though jobs in industry and manufacturing still exist in Hartlepool, more than half of its people now work in white-collar jobs, as managers, directors, in professional services, admin and skilled trades.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/apr/11/labour-sends-its-top-guns-to-defend-crucial-byelection-town

[OnDoutside]

1. Starmer hasn't led as well as hoped, though as the Democrats

discovered it's hard to counter such an amoral liar and party.