Hartlepool TV has returned fire after Angela Rayner accused the husband-and-wife team of being “US-based misinformation peddlers” for reporting Guido’s scoop that Paul Williams cut local NHS funding. Albeit failing to reject the substance of the story…

Responding to Labour’s deputy leader, Hartlepool TV’s Pam Gooderham said:

“We all stand by our findings. Sorry Angela, if it looks like a duck […] The Labour Party could not have picked a worse candidate for Hartlepool than Dr. Paul Williams […] they aren’t mad about the report, they’re just mad they got caught out.”

Pam’s right, this “pseudo-comedic right-wing blog” stands by its findings…

Angela’s troubles in Hartlepool don’t stop there. Following Labour’s limp-wristed revelation that the Tories’ candidate had spent time living in the Cayman Islands, Rayner tweeted:

“The Conservative candidate in the Hartlepool by-election has more connection to tax havens than she does to Hartlepool.”

Unfortunately for Rayner, Paul Williams himself offers a defence of his opposition, telling a 2019 Westminster Hall debate that “living for a long time in a different culture gives you particular insight”. 

Better luck next time Southside…