Despite Hartlepool not yet having been declared, a Labour source tells the press en masse Starmer will take responsibility for the result, claiming they’ve said all along “the North East and the Midlands would be difficult”. According to the Labour source, the party “has not yet changed nearly enough or voters to place their trust in us.” Possibly an understatement given Sky News is claiming the Tories are on course for almost twice as many votes as Labour in Hartlepool…

Off the record, one Labour source goes further, telling Channel 4 “Just because we have stopped pissing in the bath doesn’t mean people want to jump in with us straight away”. An accurate summary at this stage in the night…

Meanwhile the hard left are already turning on Starmer, with Lloyd Russell-Moyle being the first to break ranks and openly criticise him:

Good to see valueless flag waving and suit wearing working so well... or not?

— Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP🌹🏳️‍🌈 (@lloyd_rm) May 6, 2021

The next few days are going to be messy…

Read Labour’s statement in full:

“We’ve said all along the North East and the Midlands would be difficult. We also said the places declaring Thursday would be particularly difficult.

“But, the message from voters is clear and we have heard it. Labour has not yet changed nearly enough for voters to place their trust in us.

“We understand that. We are listening. And we will now redouble our efforts.
“Labour must now accelerate the programme of change in our party, to win back the trust and faith of working people across Britain.

“People don’t want to hear excuses. Keir has said he will take responsibility for these results — and he will take responsibility for fixing it and changing the Labour Party for the better.”