In northern England's Hartlepool, UK PM Johnson faces test

The northern English town of Hartlepool will vote for a new Member of Parliament on Thursday, a test of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the future of the opposition Labour Party's new leader.

Johnson's governing Conservative Party hopes to break Labour's decades-long hold over Hartlepool, a former industrial port town, to bolster a 2019 election victory in which he won votes from traditional opposition supporters.

If the town does elect the Conservative candidate, farmer Jill Mortimer, it will also raise questions over the leadership of Keir Starmer, elected last year as a new face to lead Labour to electoral success after a disastrous showing in 2019...