as its candidate. On Valentines Day in 2015, a 'We Love Our Hospital' rally was organised by Save Our Hospital and the Teesside Peoples' Assembly Against Austerity, attracting large crowds in Hartlepool town centre. Candidates Iain Wright, Richard Royal, Philip Broughton, Stephen Picton and Michael Holt each gave speeches alongside other selected speakers. It was reported that Wright was booed and heckled by the crowd. One day prior to the general election, local football club Hartlepool United F.C. took the unprecedented step of openly criticising Wright, and seemingly encouraging fans to support either Royal or Broughton, both of whom had met the club's leadership and shown support for its interests. The club had been under pressure, facing relegation and had an ongoing land dispute with the Labour council. Throughout the campaign, both Phillip Broughton and Richard Royal sought to portray themselves as the only viable alternative to Iain Wright, with Broughton distributing leaflets claiming that the Hartlepool election was a 'two horse race', and Royal referring to the close 2010 result, with his slogan "Wright for your town? Wrong for your future. Turn Hartlepool Royal Blue". As a result, much of the anti Labour vote was split, with UKIP and the Conservatives gaining a combined 48.9% compared to Iain Wright's 35.6%, but neither taking enough votes individually to defeat Labour. At one point during election night itself, the vote looked so close that a recount was reported to be due, but this proved to be unnecessary after the inclusion of postal votes. 2017 general election Following the 2015 general election result, Hartlepool became the 35th most vulnerable Labour seat in the country. At the EU referendum in 2016 Hartlepool voted to 'Leave' by 69.5%, making it one of the highest Leave-voting Labour-held seats in the UK. Despite this intense Euroscepticism in the area making it perceived as a vulnerable seat for Labour, at the 2017 general election Labour's new candidate Mike Hill retained the seat, with UKIP's vote falling by 17 points and Labour's rising by 17 points. This gave Labour their biggest total vote and popular vote majority in Hartlepool since 2001. Following an allegation of sexual assault made against him in September 2019, Hill sat as an Independent. However, three weeks later, the allegation was withdrawn, and he had the Labour whip restored. 2021 by-election On 16 March 2021 Mike Hill resigned as the MP for Hartlepool, triggering