Hartlepool has sent a Labour MP to parliament in every election since 1964. But as old allegiances fray, Anushka Asthana looks back at how this previously thriving shipbuilding town has lost out over successive governments and wonders if the ‘red wall’ seat could be about to go blue at tomorrow’s byelection
During the 2019 election campaign the formerly safe Labour seat of Hartlepool became the focus of a three-way fight. The Conservatives, who swept away much of Labour’s ‘red wall’ on election day, did not manage to take Hartlepool. Many of the voters it needed voted for the Brexit party instead and the town returned a Labour MP, as it had done in every election since 1964.
This time though, things could be different. With Brexit no longer a focal point, this is now a straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives – and according to recent polling it looks like it could be about to turn blue. Anushka Asthana visits Hartlepool to investigate why this formerly staunch Labour area appears to be falling out of love with the party. It’s a trend that is decades in the making as successive governments have failed to invest and renew the skills, infrastructure and key services in the town.
