2007 Sedgefield by-election

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Sedgefield by-election
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
  2005 19 July 2007 2010  

Sedgefield parliamentary seat
Turnout41.6%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Phil Wilson 2015.jpg No image.svg No image.svg
Candidate Phil Wilson Greg StoneGraham Robb
Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative
Popular vote12,5285,5724,082
Percentage44.8%19.9%14.6%
SwingDecrease2.svg14.1%Increase2.svg8.0%Increase2.svg0.2%

 Fourth partyFifth party
 
CandidateAndrew SpencePaul Gittins
Party BNP Independent
Popular vote2,4941,885
Percentage8.9%6.7%
SwingNew partyNew party

MP before election

Tony Blair
Labour

Subsequent MP

Phil Wilson
Labour

Map of Sedgefield SedgefieldConstituency.svg
Map of Sedgefield

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.

Contents

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, [1] 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. [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, losing to Peter Mandelson. [3]

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". [3] Local independent councillor Paul Gittins stood on a platform calling for the regeneration of the centre of Newton Aycliffe. [4]

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 [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Phil Wilson 12,528 44.8 –14.1
Liberal Democrats Greg Stone5,57219.9+8.0
Conservative Graham Robb4,08214.6+0.2
BNP Andrew Spence2,4948.9New
Independent Paul Gittins1,8856.7New
UKIP Toby Horton5361.9+0.3
Green Chris Haine3481.2New
English Democrat Stephen Gash1770.6New
Christian Tim Grainger1770.6New
Monster Raving Loony Alan Hope 1290.5+0.1
Anti Crime Norman Scarth 340.1New
Majority6,95624.9–19.6
Turnout 27,96241.6–20.6
Labour hold Swing

General Election 2005 result

General election 2005: Sedgefield
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tony Blair 24,421 58.9 –6.0
Conservative Gp Capt Al Lockwood5,97214.4–6.5
Liberal Democrats Robert Browne4,93511.9+2.9
Independent Reg Keys 4,25210.3New
UKIP William Brown6461.6–0.8
National Front Mark Farrell2530.6New
Veritas Fiona Luckhurst-Matthews2180.5New
Independent Berony Abraham2050.5New
Monster Raving Loony Melodie Staniforth1570.4New
Blair Must Go Party Jonathan Cockburn1030.2New
Senior Citizens Terry Pattinson970.2New
UK Pensioners Party Cherri Gilham820.2New
Independent Helen John 680.2–0.4
Independent John Barker450.1New
Independent Julian Brennan170.0New
Majority18,44944.5+0.5
Turnout 41,47562.2+0.2
Labour hold Swing –0.2

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References

  1. "Three Hundreds of Chiltern". HM Treasury. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
  2. 1 2 Chris Lloyd, "Labour chooses one of the 'Famous Five'", The Northern Echo
  3. 1 2 "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. 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.