UK Labour’s Starmer faces backlash after ‘shattering’ Hartlepool defeat

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer leaving his north London home following the result in the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Keir Starmer has come under fire from all sides after Labour suffered a crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election.

In a stunning result, the Conservatives took the seat – which had been Labour-held since it was formed in 1974 – with a majority of 6,940.