Sedgefield by-election, 2007

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Map of Sedgefield
Map of Sedgefield

The Sedgefield by-election, 2007 was a by-election held on 19 July 2007 for the British House of Commons constituency of Sedgefield in County Durham. The Ealing Southall by-election was also held on 19 July.

The by-election was triggered when Tony Blair, the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield and former Prime Minister, "resigned" to become envoy for the international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East. To resign as an MP, Blair accepted the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern,[1] thereby deliberately disqualifying himself from Parliament and causing the by-election. Blair had held the constituency since its creation for the 1983 election, and Labour had held its predecessor constituencies since the 1935 election.

According to Sedgefield Borough Council, the electorate for the by-election was 67,339 which represents an increase of 673 (1%) on the 2005 general election.

Contents

[edit] Candidates

The Labour Party selected Phil Wilson, a public relations consultant, local party member and one of the "Famous Five" who had promoted Tony Blair's first candidacy in 1983. He was chosen from a shortlist of five candidates, including former Minister Melanie Johnson.[2] The Liberal Democrats chose North East regeneration expert Greg Stone, a councillor in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and former candidate in the Vale of York in the 2001 election and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central in the 2005 election.[2] The Conservatives stood Graham Robb, a public relations consultant and former radio presenter, who stood for the party in 1992 in Hartlepool.[3]

Several other candidates contested the election. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) selected Toby Horton, who formerly contested the seat for the Conservatives in 1983, and in 1992 stood in Rother Valley. The Green Party of England and Wales chose Chris Haine, and the British National Party chose Andrew Spence, who was involved in the 2000 UK fuel protests and stood for UKIP in the seat in 2001. The leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Alan Hope, also stood, having previously contested a long list of seats in both general and by-elections. The English Democrats chose Stephen Gash, and Operation Christian Vote fielded barrister Tim Grainger. Norman Scarth stood as an independent "anti crime" candidate, having previously contested Chesterfield in 1997 as an "independent old age pensioner".[3] Local independent councillor Paul Gittins stood on a platform calling for the regeneration of the centre of Newton Aycliffe.[4]

[edit] Result

Wilson held the seat for Labour with a majority reduced by over 11,000. The Liberal Democrats overtook the Conservatives for second place, with an 11% swing. The British National Party and independent local campaigner Paul Gittins both retained their deposits. [5]

Sedgefield by-election, 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Phil Wilson 12,528 44.8 -14.1
Liberal Democrat Greg Stone 5,572 19.9 +8.0
Conservative Graham Robb 4,082 14.6 +0.2
British National Party Andrew Spence 2,494 8.9 N/A
Independent Paul Gittins 1,885 6.7 N/A
UK Independence Toby Horton 536 1.9 +0.3
Green Chris Haine 348 1.2 N/A
English Democrats Stephen Gash 177 0.6 N/A
Christian Vote Tim Grainger 177 0.6 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Alan Hope 129 0.5 +0.1
Anti Crime Norman Scarth 34 0.1 N/A
Majority 6,956 24.9 -19.6
Turnout 27,962 41.6 -20.6
Labour hold Swing

[edit] General Election 2005 result

General Election 2005: Sedgefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tony Blair 24,421 58.9 -6.0
Conservative Gp Capt Al Lockwood 5,972 14.4 -6.5
Liberal Democrat Robert Browne 4,935 11.9 +2.9
Independent Reg Keys 4,252 10.3 N/A
UK Independence William Brown 646 1.6 -0.8
National Front Mark Farrell 253 0.6 N/A
Veritas Fiona Luckhurst-Matthews 218 0.5 N/A
Independent Berony Abraham 205 0.5 N/A
Monster Raving Loony Melodie Staniforth 157 0.4 N/A
Blair Must Go Party Jonathan Cockburn 103 0.2 N/A
Senior Citizens Party Terry Pattinson 97 0.2 N/A
UK Pensioners Party Cherri Gilham 82 0.2 N/A
Independent Helen John 68 0.2 -0.4
Independent John Barker 45 0.1 N/A
Independent Julian Brennan 17 0.0 N/A
Majority 18,449 44.5
Turnout 41,475 62.2 +0.2
Labour hold Swing 0.2

[edit] References

  1. ^ Three Hundreds of Chiltern. HM Treasury (2007-06-27). Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  2. ^ a b Chris Lloyd, "Labour chooses one of the 'Famous Five'", The Northern Echo
  3. ^ a b UKPollingReport: Sedgefield
  4. ^ Greg Hurst, "Meet the man who would be Tony Blair", The Times
  5. ^ "Labour holds on to Blair's seat", BBC News

[edit] External links