{"id":124152,"date":"2021-05-07T11:29:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=124152"},"modified":"2021-05-07T11:29:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:29:50","slug":"tony-blairs-legacy-shattered-staggering-stat-highlights-labours-16-year-annihilation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/politics\/tony-blairs-legacy-shattered-staggering-stat-highlights-labours-16-year-annihilation\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Blair’s legacy shattered: Staggering stat highlights Labour’s 16-year annihilation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Starmer asked if Labour has ‘lost touch’ after Hartlepool loss<\/h3>\n

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>\n

The loss is humiliating for Sir Keir Starmer, who pledged to overturn the party’s years of electoral defeat when he took over as leader last April. It has been 16 years since Labour last won a general election.<\/p>\n

In a damning stat that proves just how far the party has fallen in recent years, almost half of seats held by members of Tony Blair’s first Cabinet in 1997 are now held by other parties.<\/p>\n

Eleven of the 23 seats – once deemed to be Labour heartlands – have now been split between the Conservatives and SNP.<\/p>\n

Hartlepool was held by Peter Mandelson with a majority of over 17,000 in 1997.<\/p>\n

Yesterday the seat was won by the Conservatives’ Jill Mortimer with a majority of almost 7,000.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tony Blair’s former seat of Sedgefield, which he represented from 1983 to 2007, fell to the hands of the Conservatives last time round at the 2019 election.<\/p>\n

Boris Johnson’s pledge to “get Brexit done” sparked a huge swing in voters towards the Tories.<\/p>\n

Ex-Chancellor and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also seen his seat change hands.<\/p>\n

Mr Brown represented the constituency of Dunfermline East, which was replaced with Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath in 2005.<\/p>\n

At the 2015 election, the SNP won Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, losing it to Labour again in 2017 before winning it back in 2019.<\/p>\n

Prime Ministers and cabinet members are usually placed in seats deemed “safe”, where they are unlikely not to be elected.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Labour’s loss of 11 former cabinet seats highlights the drastic drop in constituencies Labour can rely on for support, making it harder to win an election.<\/p>\n

The full list of former cabinet seats Labour has lost is:<\/p>\n