Labour retains Hartlepool
Labour has been returned in the by-election in the north east England seat of Hartlepool.
Labour’s candidate Iain Wright held the seat with 12,752 votes, a reduced majority of 2033 votes.
Last night, Mr Wright said the result was “great news” for Tony Blair, “a huge disappointment” for Charles Kennedy, and “an absolute disaster” for Michael Howard.
Labour won 22,506 votes in 2001.
The Liberal Democrats’ Jody Dunn substantially cut into former Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson’s 14,000 majority in 2001, winning 10,719 votes.
There is bad news for the Conservatives as Michael Howard’s party slumped to fourth place, beaten by the Liberal Democrats and United Kingdom Independence Party.
Stephen Allison of UKIP secured 3,193 votes, 149 more than Conservative Party candidate, Jeremy Middleton.
Conservative candidate Gus Robinson came second in 2001, winning 7935 votes.
The by-election was set in train after Mr Mandelson announced his resignation as a prelude to assuming his new role as EU commissioner for trade.
The turnout in the constituency was just under 46 per cent, down 10 per cent on 2001.
The Conservatives hold their annual party conference next week.
The Liberal Democrats say they are not disheartened by their second place, with newly elected party president Simon Hughes branding it an “excellent result.”
Mr Hughes said: “Across the length and breadth of England two party politics is over and three party politics is here to stay.
“This has been totally disastrous for the Conservatives who have been humiliated into fourth place. What it underlines is that the Liberal Democrats are the real opposition in British politics.”
