How the internet reacted to Labour’s crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election

The Conservative Party has won Hartlepool.

The votes are in, and the party have nabbed the Northern seat for the first time ever, with an easy 7,000 majority.

A victory so stark has triggered an early post mortem, with some blaming Labour leader Keir Starmer for failing to present a credible alternative to the Conservative’s offering, and others pointing to the legacy of Corbynism for discrediting the party.

Others still note that the Brexit Party, which contested the seat when it was last up in 2019, had previously split the right-wing vote and did not stand in this election.

Whatever the reason is for the huge loss - which marks the second time in nearly 40 years that a governing party has taken a seat from the opposition - there are conversations to be had about it. Here is a snippet of what that conversation looks like thus far.

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The Labour Party has also formally responded to the result. A statement issued to the press said:

“We’ve said all along the North East and the Midlands would be difficult... But, the message from voters is clear and we have heard it. Labour has not yet changed nearly enough for voters to place their trust in us.”

Make of that loaded statement what you will.

But others had other analysis:

Journalist Otto English had his head in his hands over the victorious Tory’s statement:

Diane Abbott threw shade at her boss:

But we’ll let a parody Boris Johnson account have the last word: