An historic result for the Tories, a crashing defeat for Labour. As Hartlepool elected its first ever Conservative MP, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” and promised to do “whatever it takes” to rebuild trust in the party.

The biggest blow came in the Hartlepool by-election where Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer won with 15,500 votes, whilst Labour polled just over 8,500. The swing to the Tories was 16 per cent, in a constituency that has been Labour since it was created in 1974.

In local elections across England, 55 out of 143 councils have been declared and the Conservatives have so far gained control of an additional five, including three in the Midlands as well as Harlow in Essex.
In the mayoral elections, Tees Valley Tory candidate Ben Houchen was re-elected with a remarkable 73% of the vote. Whilst Labour held Doncaster and Liverpool.

Ih Scotland, the SNP have added two seats at the expense of the Conservatives and Labour, but can they achieve an historic majority in the Scottish parliament?

While in Wales it’s early days, but the Labour vote appears to be holding up and it looks set to remain the largest party in the Senedd.

So what next for Labour after results which one of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet described as “shattering”. Tonight, an exclusive poll for Channel 4 News shows the top reason given for not voting Labour in England yesterday was his leadership.

Election 2021: Tories claim historic victory in Hartlepool, with Labour ‘bitterly disappointed’ at loss