Jonathan Brash MP: A Christmas Message Full of Thanks — and Not Much Truth...
- teessidetoday
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
In his Christmas Message, Labour MP Jonathan Brash Heaped out the Thank You to just about Everyone… Except the MP Who Secured the Funding for projects he's grandstanding.
26th December 2025
In his recent Christmas message published in a local newspaper, Jonathan Brash Labour MP for Hartlepool spoke at length about gratitude. He thanked schools, NHS staff, emergency services, council workers, charities, volunteers, businesses, and community groups. Few would disagree with those sentiments. Hartlepool's powered by its people, and those quiet acts of service deserve recognition.
However, what was striking about Mr Brash’s message was those who he didn't thank.. Those who's hard work has been forgotten through Labours careful re-writing of history in a bid to grandstand those projects as their own.
Missing entirely from his seasonal reflection was any acknowledgement of those who were instrumental in securing some of the very major capital projects he has, on multiple occasions, spoken about as 'successes' under his watch, the 'successes' he's now trying to claim as his own.
In particular, there was no recognition for the former Conservative MP for Hartlepool Jill Mortimer, whose role in securing funding for commercial scale AMR technology to be brought to Hartlepool, which appears to have been quietly airbrushed out of the history books.
St Helen’s School: The Timeline Matters
Take the rebuilding of St Helen’s School. This project didn't originate under the current Labour MP, nor was it commissioned after he entered Parliament.
The facts are very straightforward, The rebuilding of St Helen’s School was actually commissioned under a Conservative government which Mr Brash conveniently seems to omit from every one of his social media posts. The Funding for St Helens was formally allocated in 2022, as part of national school rebuilding programme. This was two years before Jonathan Brash was elected as MP for Hartlepool.
By the time Mr Brash arrived in Westminster, the project was already developed, approved, and funded. Any suggestion — implied or explicit — that this was a product of his parliamentary efforts simply does not align with the documented timeline.
The Power Station: Another Pre-Existing Project
The same pattern applies to the power station development regularly referenced in Labour messaging. Again, this wasn't a project conceived or delivered as a result of Jonathan Brash’s election. The groundwork, negotiations, and funding mechanisms were already in place well before voters were even asked to choose a new MP.
Yet, while praise is generously distributed in Brash's Christmas messages to just about everyone on the town, credit for these substantial investments appears to have been quietly absorbed into the current political narrative.
Gratitude Should Include Honesty
There is nothing wrong with thanking public servants, volunteers, or local businesses. In fact, it is welcome. But gratitude rings hollow when it is highly selective — especially when it excludes political opponents whose work directly benefited the town. The very same work Brash is now attempting to take the credit for.
Jill Mortimer’s tenure as MP delivered tangible outcomes. Those outcomes didn't vanish simply because Hartlepool later elected a Labour representative. Rewriting history does a disservice not just to former office-holders, but to residents who deserve transparency about how and when decisions were made.
Hartlepool residents are not naïve. They understand that large-scale infrastructure projects take years to plan, approve, and fund. They also understand that MP's inherit projects as often as they initiate them.
If Jonathan Brash genuinely believes in the “spirit of gratitude” he champions, that spirit should extend beyond safe, apolitical thank-yous and include honest recognition of his predecessors — even when they sat on the opposite benches.
