London | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pulled off a morale-boosting win in Labour’s northern English heartland, dealing a heavy political blow to Opposition Leader Keir Starmer.

Mr Johnson’s Conservative Party won the byelection in the seat of Hartlepool, once held by Tony Blair’s high-profile svengali Peter Mandelson, on a 16-point swing, taking almost 52 per cent of the vote in a low turnout poll.