Conservatives win Hartlepool byelection in blow for Labour leader
Count to begin in Scotland in most important election since devolution
Conservative’s Jill Mortimer is declared winner in the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election at Mill House Leisure Centre in Hartlepool. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
The Conservative Party has won the Hartlepool byelection, taking the constituency for the first time since it was created almost 50 years ago.
Jill Mortimer defeated Labour candidate Dr Paul Williams by 6,940 votes in what is being seen a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.