Conservative win in former stronghold emblematic of Labour's wider decline in North of England 7 May 2021 • 5:52pm Labour's crushing Hartlepool defeat is its worst result in the area since the Second World War, historic data show, with the by-election lending further weight to suggestions that the party is being abandoned by its traditional base. Paul Williams, the Labour candidate, received just 28.7 per cent of votes in Thursday's by-election, with 51.9 per cent going to Jill Mortimer, the Conservative. It was the lowest vote share in the constituency and its predecessors in 78 years. Mr Williams' performance is only outdone by the Labour affiliated candidate in 1943, standing in what was then known as "The Hartlepools" constituency, who received 11.3 per cent of the vote at a time when the UK also faced a national crisis.