Good old British deference in action.
Apart from the Johnson cultists, I do mot think he is particularly liked, but he did deliver Brexit and people are prepared to vote for him because of that.
It was a massive failure by Labour to not back Brexit, it was an even bigger mistake to put a Pro EU candidate in charge of the party and then put a Pro EU candidate up in the seat.
The Tories will say this is about the levelling up agenda, I do not think it is true, it is purely about Brexit and also about Labour becoming a party that is liberal minded and metro centric. The effect of the culture wars has also played a part. It is a triumph for the RW media and Tufton Street.
Expect to hear levelling up until you are sick to fucking death of it, because what will not be said, is it is the Tories who levelled it down in the first place.
Meanwhile we have that **** Johnson now firmly entrenched for perhaps a decade and the damage he will be able to do could be enormous. He does not give a fuck about places like Hartlepool, he gives a fuck about himself.