The Sedgefield Constituency

15 CANDIDATES STANDING IN SEDGEFIELD

Berony Abraham - Independent
John Barker - Independent
Rt HonTony Blair - Labour
Cherri Blairout-Gilham - The Pensioners Party
Julian Brennan - Independent
William Brown - UK Independence Party
Robert Browne - Liberal Democrat
Jonathan Cockburn - Blair Must Go Party
Mark Farrell - National Front
Helen John- Independent
Reg Keys -Independent
Al Lockwood - Conservative
Fiona Luckhurst-Matthews -Veritas
Terry Pattinson - Senior Citizens Party
Boney Maroney Staniforth -Monster Raving Loony Party


Turnout 2001 Result: Won by LAB, majority 44.0%

Profile: Sedgefield constituency was recreated by the Boundary Commission in 1983, having been abolished 10 years previously. Situated in the south east of Durham, it almost completely surrounds the urban constituency of Darlington. It consists of a number of small towns and villages -Trimdon, Newton Aycliffe, Ferryhill and Sedgefield itself, a relatively well-off town of 5,000 people and a racecourse.

Once heavily reliant on its traditional industrial heritage - coal and steel - Sedgefield's economy is continuing to recover and adapt. Diversification into light engineering, distributive trades and the service sector have all played a part here, as has Japanese inward investment from companies like Fujitsu and Nippon Silica Glass. Twenty-six percent of the working population is still employed in manufacturing. For the past 22 years this seat has been associated with Tony Blair who was selected as a last-minute candidate for the 1983 General Election.

The Blair family has a house in Trimdon in the constituency. His majority in the year of Labour's triumph and his becoming Prime Minister was over 25,000. In 2001 this decreased to 17,713 but the fall was in line with comparable seats.

2001 RESULT FOR SEDGEFIELD
Labour 64.9%
Conservative 20.9%
Liberal Democrat 9.0%
Others 5.2%