Author: Jade Calder

Outside her degree, Jade (she/her) can occasionally be found trudging around Manchester on the way to her local Greggs. She was also once described as the 'lovechild of Dennis Skinner and Liam Gallagher' by a Conservative councillor. It is her only notable achievement.
Opinion

Why Hartlepool matters

Jade Calder explores the political consequences of the fast-approaching Hartlepool by-election.

“Whilst the ‘Red Wall’ of traditional Labour heartlands may be a media creation lacking historical provenance, if one must refer to the idea, Hartlepool would probably be a prime example. It certainly checks all the tick boxes created by the London-based media: de-industrialisation and economic decline from the 1980s, consistent return of Labour MPs, a 70% vote in favour of Brexit in 2016, and of course, its ‘up North’. This port town in the North East (and a solid Labour seat since the 1960s) is set to hold a by-election for its constituency on the 6th of May following the resignation of Mike Hill, and the results could well serve as a sobering assessment of the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s project to make Labour more electable following the Conservative landslide at the last election.”