Watch: Slideshow of pictures from Hartlepool's General Election count
![New Hartlepool MP Mike Hill is congratulated after his victory.](https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/webimg/legacy_ash_90941874.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![New Hartlepool MP Mike Hill is congratulated after his victory.](/img/placeholder.png)
The General Election is over and the people of Hartlepool have spoken emphatically.
Despite talk of the Conservatives regaining a seat they last held in 1964, Labour maintained its political grip on the town with new MP Mike Hill succeeding Iain Wright with an increased
majority of 7,650.
![New Hartlepool MP Mike Hill is congratulated after his victory.](https://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/webimg/legacy_ash_90941874.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65)
![New Hartlepool MP Mike Hill is congratulated after his victory.](/img/placeholder.png)
Our photographer was at the count at the Mill House Leisure Centre to capture all the emotion as the four candidates waited to learn their fate.