2007 Sedgefield by-election

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.

Sedgefield by-election
19 July 2007
Sedgefield parliamentary seat
  First party Second party Third party
 
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

Map of Sedgefield

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 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]

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

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 Democrats Robert Browne 4,935 11.9 +2.9
Independent Reg Keys 4,252 10.3 New
UKIP William Brown 646 1.6 -0.8
National Front Mark Farrell 253 0.6 New
Veritas Fiona Luckhurst-Matthews 218 0.5 New
Independent Berony Abraham 205 0.5 New
Monster Raving Loony Melodie Staniforth 157 0.4 New
Blair Must Go Party Jonathan Cockburn 103 0.2 New
Senior Citizens Terry Pattinson 97 0.2 New
UK Pensioners Party Cherri Gilham 82 0.2 New
Independent Helen John 68 0.2 -0.4
Independent John Barker 45 0.1 New
Independent Julian Brennan 17 0.0 New
Majority 18,449 44.5
Turnout 41,475 62.2 +0.2
Labour hold Swing -0.2

References
  1. "Three Hundreds of Chiltern". HM Treasury. 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  2. Chris Lloyd, "Labour chooses one of the 'Famous Five'", The Northern Echo
  3. 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
  6. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 2005-2010 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
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