Boris praises Brexit for by-election success

BORIS Johnson said a massive “thank you” to the people of Hartlepool yesterday on a victory visit to the town where the Tories won an historic by-election victory.

He said the election of Jill Mortimer, overturning a 3,000 plus Labour majority to take the seat by a margin over Labour of almost 7,000 votes, was “a mandate” for the Tories to deliver for the people of the whole of Britain.

He went on: “I think if there was a lesson out of this whole election campaign...it’s that the public want politicians to get on with focusing on their needs and their priorities.

“So coming through the pandemic, and making sure that we then build back better and you can see some of the evidence of economic confidence that the Bank of England’s been talking about, the prospect of a really strong rebound in the second half of the year.

“I think people want us to focus on that.”

He also raised the importance of Brexit – one of the key issues for voters in Hartlepool who voted overwhelmingly in 2026 to leave the EU.

“This is a place that voted for Brexit, and we got Brexit done,” he said. “And then we’re able to do other things. It’s thanks to Brexit that we’ve actually been able to, to go ahead with the freeport in the whole of Teesside, do things like take back control of our borders so we’re able to deal with things like the European Super League.

“And of course, we’re able to do things a bit differently when it’s come to the vaccine rollout that’s been so important, and able to deliver that faster than other European countries.

“So it’s about delivery. It’s about getting on. That’s the mandate that the people have given us.”