Slightly different take on the Hartlepool result but did you notice the result of the Tees Valley mayoral election with Ben Houchen getting 73% of the vote? The lad has been doing a cracking job for the region, fighting their corner and crucially getting things done - I don't think that anybody cares that he is a Tory, he is doing great things for the region after decades of neglect.
To my mind such positivity is bound to impact on voters and it is not overly surprising that not only has the Hartlepool constituency gone Tory but so has the PCC, with the Tories winning that from Labour. I think that people are looking locally rather than nationally and the Tories have got a good tale to tell in Teesside.
Labour historically parachuted the likes of Mandleson in who had no interest at all in their constituents and relied on the inertia of the voters who would vote red regardless. That has changed now and if Labour want to start winning back the red wall they will have to start actually doing something for their constituents rather than simply heading down to London and ignoring them.