What an extraordinary day. For the first time in current history of the Hartlepool constituency, it has as a Conservative MP. Jill Mortimer - who defeated Labour rival Paul Williams by nearly 7,000 votes - hailed the result as a "truly historic" moment. It was a blow to Sir Keir Starmer's efforts to win back support in traditional Labour heartlands. We were also making gains from Labour in English council elections. On a walkabout in Hartlepool with the victorious Tory candidate, Boris Johnson said her win was a "mandate for us to continue to deliver" for the north-east of England and the rest of the country. Sir Keir said he was "bitterly disappointed" by the results. The Labour leader said the party had "lost the trust of working people, particularly in places like Hartlepool," but added: "I will take full responsibility for fixing things." He said Labour had "not made a strong enough case to the country" and he promised to set out changes in the next few days to help the party "reconnect" with lost voters. It'll be interesting to see how he intends to do that, as it seems that some in Labour want to take the Party further Left. Up in Scotland, the SNP won three key seats but its hopes of securing an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament election remained on a knife edge. The Party has taken both Edinburgh Central - where former MP Angus Robertson was standing for the SNP - and Ayr from the Conservatives. And it also won the East Lothian seat from Labour. But it fell short in other targets, with counting in the remaining seats due to resume tomorrow. While keeping an eye and ear on my office TV, I worked steadily through the day on constituency matters, beginning with a very informative virtual meeting with Dorset Council's John Sellgren and Cllr Tony Ferrari. We are pushing hard to qualify for the Government's Levelling up Fund, where councils can bid for up to £20 million. Due to our change to unitary status, we have found ourselves in category 3, which reduces our chances of success. But, after a positive meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I am hopeful our bid will be taken seriously and succeed. Finally, those with a summer holiday on their mind saw a wee glimmer on the horizon after the Government named 12 destinations that have been placed on a green travel list for people in England, meaning anyone returning will not need to quarantine from 17 May. A new traffic light system of rules means international travel will no longer be illegal. However, places on the green list - which includes Portugal, Israel and Gibraltar - have their own restrictions on who can visit from abroad. The transport secretary said the UK approach was "necessarily cautious". I must end today's diary by congratulating the PM and all our team for a fantastic effort. I'd also like to thank the team in S Dorset, who supported our successful PCC candidate, David Sidwick, and saw success in Swanage and Weymouth with two town council wins.