1. Hartlepool: The Tories have barely moved from their 2017 figure, and polled only 68 percent of their 1974 vote. The seat went because the Labour vote has collapsed to an historic low, and Reform is nowhere to be seen - all against a low turnout (42.7 percent).

2. This cannot be said to be any great endorsement for the Tories. The arithmetic suggests that Labour voters stayed at home, as did most of the former Ukip/BP/Reform voters, with only a small number drifting to the Tories. This is a picture of party politics in disarray.

3. Even apparently neutral reports are highly misleading, viz: "The Conservatives win the Hartlepool by-election with a majority of 6,940 votes, and a swing from Labour of 16%". There was no swing to the Tories - the party just about held its own. The Labour vote collapsed.

4. For the Tories, it's a hollow victory. They have taken the seat with the votes of 22 percent of the electorate. Just one in five of the eligible population of Hartlepool turned out for Johnson's party - hardly a ringing endorsement.

Elsewhere in England, with voters deserting the Labour party, with victories being racked up by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and in some cases the Green party, this has been an "Anyone But Labour" election.