Keir Starmer has said he will take “full responsibility” for the result of the Hartlepool by-election as an opinion poll showed the Tories opening up a double-digit lead in the constituency.
The Labour leader said the party would be "fighting for every vote" and that he hoped it would not lose another seat in the Red Wall.
But he admitted Labour still had "a mountain to climb" after its devastating defeat under Jeremy Corbyn to be in a position to oust the Tories from power.
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, a Survation poll for ITV’s Good Morning Britain put the Conservatives on 50% – 17 points ahead of Labour in a seat it has held since it was created in 1974.
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