The Labour Party has led Hartlepool’s constituents for 57 years, but on 6 May 2021, this could all change. For the first time in nearly 60 years, Hartlepool is now a marginal seat and is, therefore, a hotspot for the Conservative Party – if they can muster enough support.
According to the Communication Workers Union poll, the Conservative Party are expected to win with 49% of the votes to Labour’s 42%. What this poll fails to address, however, is that only 502 responded out of Hartlepool’s population of over 70,000. With the race now on, it is not yet clear who will win.
Background
Prior to his political role as Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton South and now Labour candidate for Hartlepool, Dr Paul Williams worked as a General Practitioner (GP) in Stockton and also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Hartlepool and Stockton Health GP Federation, which oversaw 37 practices across the region.
Despite living in Canterbury as a child, Mr Williams attended Newcastle University where he completed his degree in Medicine. He subsequently received a Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the University of Liverpool.
Labour Candidate vs GP
In 2017, Mr Williams worked alongside local GPs to re-open the Urgent Care Centre at The University Hospital of Hartlepool. With the closure of Hartlepool’s A&E in August 2011, the town had been without access to urgent medical care for six years.
Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, Dr Paul Williams has worked alongside local National Health Service (NHS) workers, and in an interview with him this morning, this is what he had to say: “Since Covid has hit, health services have changed massively,” said Dr Paul Williams.
“I had to put on homemade PPE.”
“It was a frightening time actually, it was a frightening time for everybody, including being in the NHS because you didn’t really know that much about this new virus, what illnesses it caused, whether you were going to get it at work.”
When asked whether he will be continuing his work as a GP throughout his campaign, he said: “I’m going to carry on doing shifts during this campaign. I have a responsibility to the NHS.”
Over the past 10 years, Hartlepool has suffered under the Conservative government, losing valuable hospital services, policemen, and its Magistrates Court and cells.
“I’m determined that we see our police cells open,” said Mr Williams. He continued to say: “it makes me really angry actually that when a criminal is arrested in Hartlepool, not only do the police have to take them to another town, but we have 70,000 people; we should have our own police cells.”
“None of those problems are insurmountable with the right political will,” however.
Labour Plans for the Area
Despite lost opportunities, economic hardships, and constant struggles faced by this town, Dr Paul Williams is committed to bringing Hartlepool back into the race.
In recent years, Hartlepool has seen a detrimental reduction in jobs available, with thousands of steel work jobs being cut despite this being a historical trade for the town.
“If I am MP for this area, I will host an annual jobs fair in order to increase the number of apprenticeships” to provide “opportunities for young people.”
Mr Williams is not only determined to bring more jobs to this constituency but also wants to see a burst of energy for local businesses.
“Working together on a coherent strategy” with a business board in the town is one of the key elements of Dr Paul Williams’ plan – a plan he aims to distribute to all constituents in the coming weeks.
“I really hope that the Conservatives don’t win. I think that they have let the people of Hartlepool down for the last ten years.”
Hartlepool’s constituents will take to the polls in less than a month to decide the fate of this town’s MP. Which party will take the lead is yet to be decided, but it is sure to be a historical event.
Madeleine Raine
Featured image courtesy of Arnaud Jaegers on Unsplash. Image license is available here. No changes were made to this image.