Labour’s Early Campaign in Hartlepool: Desperation or Strategy?

The Hartlepool Labour Group were out this weekend in Hartlepool's Throston Ward ahead of a potential By-election

The Hartlepool Labour Group are said to be hitting the election campaign trail early in Hartlepool's Throston Ward, ahead of a potential by-election being called that's widely tipped to see Labour lose the seat to Reform UK.

23rd March 2025

Labours Councillor Cameron Sharp Stood down from the role this week

This weekend, the Hartlepool Labour Party kicked off what appears to be an unusually early election campaign coming just days after the resignation of Labour councillor Cameron Sharp from his Throston ward seat on March 20, 2025.

Sharp, once heralded as the youngest-ever Labour councillor on Hartlepool Borough Council when elected in a 2022 by-election, stepped down after claiming he'd took on a role as a teacher in a school managed by Hartlepool Borough Council, leaving a vacancy that could trigger a by-election in mere weeks, although, others have claimed Mr Sharp's apparent 'extreme leftist' political attitudes were becoming too troublesome for some of his more centralist Labour members to tolerate..

With no official date yet set, Labour’s decision to hit the campaign trail so soon has raised much speculation—especially as local support appears to be ebbing away from Labour towards Reform UK, who are poised to announce their candidate for the town ward any day now. Is this a bold move to reclaim ground, or is it a sign of 'panic' as Labour senses its grip on this historic stronghold is beginning to slip?

A Rapid Response to a Resignation, but still no official statement about the councillor's departure by the local political group...

Labour activists were said to be out in force this weekend ahead of a potential by-election being called

Sharp’s exit was abrupt, coming less than three years into his tenure.

Elected at 19 with a promise to bring fresh energy to a Labour team battered by losses in Hartlepool, his departure leaves Throston ward—a traditionally 'safe' Labour seat—vulnerable at a time when the party can ill afford another embarrassment.

The Labour Party wasted no time, launching a visible campaign this weekend, with door-knocking, leaflets, and social media buzz, with Party activists quick to frame it as a proactive effort to “listen to residents” and “build on recent successes,” pointing to their recapture of Hartlepool Borough Council in 2024 and Jonathan Brash’s parliamentary win in the same year’s general election.

But the timing feels less like confidence, and more like a pre-emptive strike. By-elections in Hartlepool are notoriously unpredictable, and Hartlepool’s recent political history suggests Labour can’t take anything for granted. The 2021 parliamentary by-election saw the Conservatives snatch the seat from Labour for the first time since its creation in 1974, a stinging rebuke that exposed deep disillusionment amongst voters. While Labour managed to claw back the parliamentary seat in 2024, the margin was significantly narrower than in its pre-2019 heyday, and local election results have shown a growing appetite for alternative political parties. Enter Reform UK, whose predecessor, the Brexit Party, scooped 25.8% of the vote in Hartlepool in the 2019 general election.

With Reform UK reportedly said to be teasing a candidate announcement imminently, Labour’s early campaign smells like an attempt to get ahead of what's looking to be a brewing storm.

Courting a Disenchanted Electorate

Hartlepool's Political Landscape is changing once more, & it seems love for the Labour Party is dwindling again !

Hartlepool's long been a Labour heartland, but that loyalty has frayed significantly over the years. Decades of industrial decline, stagnant wages, and cuts to public services—most notably the loss of emergency care at the University Hospital of Hartlepool—have fuelled a narrative of neglect.

Labour’s promises to “fight for working people” have rung hollow for many, especially after the party’s perceived mishandling of Brexit (Hartlepool voted 69.6% to Leave in 2016) and its slow response to local concerns. The 2021 by-election loss was a serious wake-up call for the political party, yet Labour’s subsequent victories haven’t seemingly fully repaired the trust deficit.

National Issues such as Winter Fuel Payments & Welfare Cuts could dominate the Hartlepool Local By-election

Additionally, national issues such as the Winter Fuel Payments cut & cuts to welfare support, have all fuelled the narrative that Labour nationally 'are attempting to finish off where David Cameron's Conservative Government started back in 2010' with Cruel Austerity, leading to many local voters regretting their decision to vote Labour back into a constituency where they've now not only retaken control of both the parliamentary constituency seat, but also the local council.

Labour’s early start in Throston this weekend therefore looks to be a bid to lock in the waverers before Reform UK officially names its contender, likely a local figure with a populist streak to rival Labour’s technocratic sheen. But Labours bid to strike at the town ward early also risks looking desperate—a party scrambling to shore up support rather than confidently building on its mandate.

The optics aren’t helped by Sharp’s sudden exit, & his mere 50% attendance record at council meetings, which some locals see as emblematic of Labour’s flaky commitment to Hartlepool...

“Another one jumps ship,” one X user quipped, echoing a sentiment that Labour’s young stars burn bright but fade fast.

Reform UK: The Looming Threat

Labour's could see the seat potentially lost to a reform UK Candidate, who are eating away at labours electoral margins

Reform UK’s silence on their candidate so far only heightens the tension. The party knows Hartlepool is fertile ground—its 2019 performance proved that—and a well-chosen nominee could very well exploit Labour’s vulnerabilities. Unlike Labour’s polished machine, Reform thrives on outsider appeal, promising to shake up a system that many here feel has failed them. Their candidate will likely hammer home issues like NHS cuts and economic stagnation, framing Labour as complicit in the town’s woes. With national polls showing Reform managing to eat into both Labour and Conservative support, a strong showing therefore in Throston could therefore signal bigger trouble for Labour ahead of future contests.

The pressure will be on Labour Leader Keir Starmer is Hartlepool begins to lose Labour Councillors in by-elections to reform UK

Labour’s 'weekend blitz' may blunt Reforms momentum, but it’s a costly gamble. Flooding the ward with activists and platitudes could backfire if voters perceive it as pandering rather than genuine engagement.

Labour’s 2024 local manifesto boasted “a new approach” with candidates from diverse backgrounds, yet the same old grievances—crime, cleanliness, council waste—seem to dominate doorstep conversations.

If Labour can’t deliver tangible change, Reform’s simpler, angrier message will cut through the noise & secure them a much needed seat on Hartlepool Borough Council, & may once again signal the beginning of the end for the Hartlepool Labour Party.