EXCLUSIVE: Northern Independence Party to stand first parliamentary candidate in Hartlepool by-election

The Northern Independence Party will stand its first ever parliamentary candidate in the upcoming Hartlepool by-election, the Hartlepool Mail can reveal.

The party claims the north of England “has been taken for granted by Westminster elites” and says, “now is the time for the people of the North to break with a political system that has impoverished us for generations”.

In a statement, the fledgling independence party took aim at the Labour Party, and “London-based Lawyer Sir Keir Starmer” who they argue doesn’t know “the first thing about life in Hartlepool”.

Likely a hard fought election

The by-election will take place as a result of incumbent Labour MP Mike Hill’s decision to step down.

The contest will likely be a hard fought one, as Labour’s majority in Hartlepool was slashed by 14.8 per cent at the last election.

The Brexit Party - now renamed Reform UK - picked up 10,603 votes in the 2019 general election, significantly more than the Labour’s 3595 majority over the Conservatives, who came in second place with 11,869 votes.

Many commentators have speculated that these voters will be more likely to support the Conservatives than Labour, and the appeal of the rebranded Reform UK is not as strong with the Brexit deal now concluded, meaning many of their previous voters will now back the Conservatives.

‘The beginning of a new North’

A spokesperson for the Northern Independence Party said: “The Northern Independence Party plans to stand a candidate in the forthcoming Hartlepool by-election. For too long the North has been taken for granted by Westminster elites.

“We believe that now is the time for the people of the North to break with a political system that has impoverished us for generations. The Labour Party has never represented the real interests of the North.

“We reject the idea that London-based lawyer Sir Keir Starmer knows the first thing about life in Hartlepool. We will win this seat in Hartlepool, for Hartlepool.

“This is the beginning of a new North.”