Keir Starmer reportedly wanted to quit after 2021 Hartlepool defeat

Labour leader thought loss to Tories in byelection meant party going backward, according to new biography

Keir Starmer considered resigning as Labour party leader after the defeat in the Hartlepool byelection in 2021, according to a new biography.

The loss of the County Durham constituency to the Conservatives was a blow to Starmer as the party had held the seat since it was created in 1974. Nearly two and a half years later, Labour are ahead in the polls and achieved a double success by winning the byelections in Wellingborough and Kingswood on Friday.