Inside Politics: Labour left pounces after huge defeat in Hartlepool

Keir Starmer’s team has promised to go into ‘listening’ mode after demoralising by-election loss, writes Adam Forrest

Labour leader Keir Starmer (PA)

Oh what a lovely war! Britain’s weird and wonderful one-day conflict with France had the tabloid press in a patriotic frenzy – digging out the Dad’s Army-style campaign maps and talking hysterically of a second Battle of Trafalgar. Attention now switches to a different set of campaign maps, as the battle rages for political control of England’s North and Midlands. Labour has been resoundingly defeated in Hartlepool, as the once-red wall turns a deeper shade of blue. Keir Starmer is now bracing himself for a hat trick of big losses in winnable territory, and a potential leadership challenge from the Labour left.

Inside the bubble

Policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson may head up to Hartlepool to revel in his by-election victory. We should get the first results from Scotland, Wales and more of the local contests in England from midday. Elsewhere, the government will finally reveal the “green list” destinations holidaymakers can visit this summer without quarantining.

Daily briefing

ANOTHER BRICK OUT THE WALL: It was a thumping victory for the Conservatives in Hartlepool – the first time the party has ever won the seat. Tory Jill Mortimer won the by-election by a majority of almost 7,000, getting 52 per cent of the vote (her Labour rival Paul Williams only managed 29 per cent). It’s grim for Keir Starmer. He is now braced for a potentially devastating “hat-trick” of defeats – with results of mayoral races in the West Midlands and Tees Valley expected later. The recriminations from the Labour left have started already. MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle mocked his leader’s attempts to change the party’s image. “Good to see valueless flag waving and suit wearing working so well.” Richard Burgon MP added: “Labour’s leadership needs to urgently change direction.” A Labour source claimed the party had “not yet changed nearly enough” and also said the leadership would go into “listening” mode. “We are suffering from Long Corbyn,” one senior Labour figure moaned to the Mail, blaming Starmer’s predecessor. Meanwhile, gleeful Tory supporters put up a giant Boris Johnson balloon up in Hartlepool.

NO MEAN CITY: Nicola Sturgeon is eagerly awaiting the start of the count in Scotland. The SNP leader endured a more dramatic polling day than she imagined – confronted by a far-right candidate outside a polling station in her Glasgow constituency. Sturgeon stood her ground during the tense encounter with Jayda Fransen, Britain First’s former deputy leader. The first minister told Fransen: “You are a fascist, you are a racist, and the southside of Glasgow will reject you.” Counting is set to get under way across most of Scotland, all Wales and many of England’s local contests at 9am this morning. So we’ll have to wait until midday to get an indication whether the SNP might get the majority needed to claim a mandate for an independence referendum. Keir Starmer will nervously await the results of the crucial West Midlands mayoralty at around 4.30pm and the Tees Valley mayoralty at around 7pm.

WE SHALL FIGHT THEM ON THE BREACHES: So the deeply weird “war” with French fisherman is over. For now. The flotilla of 60 boats protesting fishing rights headed home after their attempted blockade of Jersey’s port. Boris Johnson gave his “unequivocal support” for the island and said two Royal Navy vessels would remain to “monitor the situation”. While the right-wing press worked itself into a gleeful frenzy, the French media offered a Gallic shrug, with only a few short reports on the small fishing boat protest. The politics remain unresolved. The EU Commission said “additional conditions” attached by the UK to new fishing licences were a clear breach of the Brexit deal. France’s Europe minister Clément Beaune said France “won’t be intimidated” by Britain’s military “manoeuvres”. And Hugo Lehuby, spokesman for the Normandy fishermen, said there had been no progress on licences with the Jersey authorities. “Either this gets resolved, or retaliatory measures are taken.”

GREEN LIGHT FLIGHTS: Holidaymakers will finally discover which destinations they can visit this summer without quarantining today – with Portugal, Iceland and Malta expected to be on the “green list”. Gibraltar and Israel could also make the cut when the list is published later. One travel boss warned prices are set to shoot up. “There’s so much pent-up demand,” said Booking.com’s Glenn Fogel. Meanwhile, public health experts have reportedly recommended that a version of the Indian Covid variant discovered in the UK is made a “variant of concern”. Public Health England scientists believe B.1.617.2 spreads at least as quickly as the Kent variant, according to the BBC. Elsewhere, Labour MP Stella Creasy has warned that some pregnant women are struggling to get the vaccine because clinics are unable to guarantee the right type of jab. “I don’t think it’s been made enough of a priority,” said Creasy.

RESTEZ CALME ET CONTINUEZ: The former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said he found it “difficult to stay calm” while meeting DUP leaders Arlene Foster and Diane Dodds. Further extracts from his book Le Grand Illusion revealed his deep frustration with the DUP politicians – saying they “oppose everything” and forever try to outdo each other on “slogans and ready-made phrases”. Speaking of which, Edwin Poots and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will be busy polishing up their very best anti-protocol slogans. Nominations for the leadership contest have now closed and Poots and Sir Jeffrey are the only two candidates. There are three candidates to be deputy leader: MP Gregory Campbell and MLAs Paul Frew and Paula Bradley. Campbell comes with the most baggage. He was accused of “race-baiting” after describing the number of black people on one episode of Songs of Praise as “the BBC at its BLM [Black Lives Matter] worst”. He refused to apologise.

PATENTLY OBVIOUS: EU leaders have signalled they are open to the idea of waiving drug companies’ patents on Covid vaccines, after the US backed the radical move. It could be a major development in the global vaccination roll-out. Drug makers have claimed it could lead to quality issues, but advocates say the move is necessary to boost production around the world. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” said US trade representative Katherine Tai. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was now “ready to discuss” any proposals. French president Emmanuel Macron said he was now “absolutely in favour”. However German officials pushed back on the proposal. With the local elections dominating, it looks like we’ll have to wait until next week to hear what Downing Street and UK ministers think about the plan.

On the record

“Keir will lead [Labour], the rest of us will support him, but we will work tirelessly night and day to rebuild the shattered trust.”

Labour’s shadow communities secretary Steve Reed on the fight ahead.

From the Twitterati

“War with France and the imminent collapse of the Labour Party, what more could a Brexiteer ask for?”

Darren Grimes trolls for the union jack-loving right…

“If we go to war with France, we go to war with the whole of the European Union. Let that sink in.”

…while Tim Walker overreacts for the EU-loving liberal-left.

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: The war with France is over – the next skirmish with the EU won’t be so funny

Cathy Newman, The Independent: Why I miss Donald Trump on social media

Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian: The ‘new’ politics of the red wall look very much like the old

Rachel Cunliffe, New Statesman: Boris Johnson is right, actually – he doesn’t get paid enough

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