Britain’s ruling Conservative Party scored a major victory on Friday when it won the parliamentary seat for Hartlepool, a traditional Labour stronghold, for the first time since it was created almost 50 years ago. Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer took the seat, which had been Labour-held since it was formed in 1974, with a majority of 6,940. Mortimer gained 15,529 votes—more than half the total cast—with Labour’s Dr. Paul Williams trailing with 8,589. The result was in part due to voters who backed the Brexit Party in 2019—when it took a quarter of the vote—switching to the Conservatives. In her victory speech, Mortimer hailed the “truly historic result” and said she was “immensely proud to be the first Conservative MP in Hartlepool for 57 years.” “Labour have taken people in Hartlepool for granted for too long,” she said. “I heard this time and time again on the doorstep and people have …