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Sedgefield by-election

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Sedgefield constituency
Turnout	41.6% 13.23pp
First party Second party Third party   Lib Con Candidate Phil Wilson Greg Stone Graham Robb Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Popular vote 12,528 5,572 4,082 Percentage 44.8% 19.9% 14.6% Swing 14.1% 8.0% 0.2%   Fourth party Fifth party   Candidate Andrew Spence Paul Gittins Party BNP Independent Popular vote 2,494 1,885 Percentage 8.9% 6.7% Swing New party New party
MP before election Tony Blair Labour Subsequent MP Phil Wilson Labour

The 2007 Sedgefield by-election was a by-election held on 19 July 2007 for the 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. Blair accepted the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern, thereby 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.

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. 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. The Conservatives stood Graham Robb, a public relations consultant and former radio presenter, who stood for the party in 1992 in Hartlepool, losing to Peter Mandelson.

Several other candidates contested the election. The UK 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 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". Local independent councillor Paul Gittins stood on a platform calling for the regeneration of the centre of Newton Aycliffe.

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. The turnout for the by-election was down by 13.23 percentage points in comparison with 2005.

General Election 2005 result

References

1. "Three Hundreds of Chiltern". HM Treasury. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
2. ^ Chris Lloyd, "Labour chooses one of the 'Famous Five'", The Northern Echo
3. ^ "UKPollingReport: Sedgefield". Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
4. Greg Hurst, "Meet the man who would be Tony Blair", The Times
5. "Labour holds on to Blair's seat". BBC News. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
6. "Tories shrug off by-election blow". 20 July 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
7. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2005–2010 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.

External links

• BBC News
• Labour's Sedgefield By-Election Website
• Liberal Democrats Sedgefield By-Election Website
• Conservative Sedgefield By-Election Website
• By-Election blog
• Sedgefield UK Independence Party
• Election leaflets from the by-election campaign

• 2007 elections in the United Kingdom
• 2007 in England
• By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Durham constituencies
• Sedgefield (borough)
• 2000s in County Durham
• July 2007 events in the United Kingdom