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.