BORIS Johnson has described the early election results as “very encouraging” after hopes of a Labour revival were dealt a crushing blow when the Conservatives won the Hartlepool by-election.

Speaking to reporters in Coventry, the Prime Minister said: “I know that the results have been coming in since this morning and there’s clearly a lot more to go, and it’s early days, but it’s a very encouraging set of results so far.

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“I think that’s really because we have been focusing, as a Government, on our priorities, the people’s priorities, and bouncing back from the pandemic as much as we can and getting through it.”

Mr Johnson said he would say more later on “in Hartlepool”, where the Tory candidate Jill Mortimer took the seat – which had been Labour-held since it was formed in 1974 – with a majority of 6,940.