Sedgefield 2005 Election Guide
Sedgefield Election News
The news items below are just a selection. For a complete list please visit our Sedgefield News page.
5 May 2005: Exclusive: Tony Blair's Secret Fitness Campaign
Election day has finally arrived. Although the official campaign was rather short, it seemed at times more like a marathon.
Whatever the outcome, Tony Blair had to be fit and full of energy to get through it, although, at times, particularly, on Question Time, he seemed to be sweating somewhat profusely.
And now the scoop ... The Sedgefield 2005 Election Guide can finally show you secret footage of Tony Blair's fitness campaign ...Full Story
5 May 2005: The Ditch Blair Project
... In all likelihood, Blair will prevail. His riding, Sedgefield, has for generations sent Labour Party members to parliament.
But he faces a tougher fight than ever before because of his decision to march British troops into George Bush's "coalition of the willing" for the invasion and occupation of Iraq ...Full Story
28 April 2005: Attorney General's Legal Advice Leaked
Most of the front pages of the papers, with the notable exceptions of Rupert Murdoch's Sun and The Times, were plastered with headlines based around the leak of legal advice by the Attorney General which indicated that the invasion of Iraq could be judged to have been illegal ... Full Story
Sedgefield Election Pointers
In the absence of local opinion polls, predicting the outcome of voting in Sedgefield is, of course, hazardous. No sensible comparisons can be made with Tatton where a Constituency poll conducted about two weeks before the 1997 election put Martin Bell 11% ahead of Neil Hamilton ... Full Story
Keys claims another defection
Hot on the heels of David Shayler standing down in favour of Reg Keys, Derek Cattell, a Sedgefield Labour Party Executive Committee member, announced that he was resigning from the Labour Party to join the campaign to elect Reg Keys ... Full Story
Shayler pulls out and supports Reg Keys
Former M15 officer David Shayler today urged all candidates in Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Sedgefield constituency to step down in favour of another anti-war campaigner after ending his own bid to be the local MP.
Sedgefield Blogs
The latest information on some of the Sedgefield Campaign Blogs ... Full Story
April 12 2005 will be remembered as a critical moment in British Politics
In times to come political historians may well reflect that yesterday, 12 April 2005, was a watershed moment in British politics ...Full Story
LibDem's Browne wants to scrap the Council Tax
Sedgefield's LibDem candidate, Robert Browne, speaking from Newton Aycliffe today, said that the Liberal Democrats would replace the Council Tax with a local income tax.
Browne claimed that as a result the average family in the Sedgefield constituency will pay £450 less ...Full Story
Anti-War Candidates to meet tomorrow night
A source close to one of the anti-war candidates has revealed to Sedgefield 2005 Election Guide that the various anti-war campaigns are to meet tomorrow night.
Many pundits have speculated that the protest vote against Tony Blair could become too fragmented to be effective, unlike in Tatton where rival candidates stepped-down to clear the path for Martin Bell to take that consistuency from Neil Hamilton ...Full Story
PM tour starts with education vow
Tony Blair has kicked off his General Election tour of Britain with a major speech on education.
Emphasising education remains his number one political priority, Mr Blair told an audience at Trimdon Constituency Labour Club in his Sedgefield constituency that education is a major dividing line between Labour and the Conservatives.
Before he delivered his speech, local party members went through the formality of re-adopting Mr Blair as the party's Parliamentary candidate for the constituency, where at the 2001 General Election he amassed a majority of 17,713 ... Full Story
Shayler may pull out to increase Keys' chances
April 8 - Biogs.com: In Michael Crick's report on Newsnight last night, 7 April, he phoned David Shayler and asked him about a rumour that he would pull out of the election. There was no reply in the report but Crick went on to say that Shayler was driving up to see Reg Keys tonight (i.e. yesterday) ... Full Story
The money says Blair's Sedgefield majority will decline
April 6 - Biogs.com: The Racing Post today ran the headline, 'Little faith in Blair as campaign kicks off'. They were referring to the fact that bookmakers, Skybet, had slashed the odds on Blair's majority in Sedgefield being reduced from 4 years ago down to 2-7 ...Full Story
Tony Blair sets the election for May 5
April 5 - Biogs.com: Mr Blair visited Buckingham Palace today and, as expected, called an election for May 5. Theoretically, that allows just three-and-a-half weeks for campaigning, but the parties had already been touting their wares in anticipation ...Full Story
'I'll hold Blair to account'
March 22 - The Guardian: Reg Keys wasn't interested in politics until his son Tom was killed in Iraq in a war he insists was 'illegal and immoral'. Which makes him the ideal candidate to stand against the prime minister in his Sedgefield constituency ... Full Story
Shayler to stand against Blair in election
March 18 - Daily Telegraph: David Shayler, the rebel spy, is to stand against the Prime Minister in the forthcoming general election, it has been confirmed ... Full Story
The Sedgefield Candidates
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair was born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, the son of Leo Charles Lynton Blair and Hazel Blair. Tony Blair was educated at Durham Choristers School; Fettes College, Edinburgh; and St John's College, Oxford. At University Tony Blair became the lead singer of Ugly Rumours... Full biography
Al Lockwood
The announcement of Group Captain Al Lockwood's appointment as Conservative Party candidate for Sedgefield was made on 24 March 2005. Al Lockwood is a former fighter pilot, who left the RAF earlier this year (2005)... Full biography
Reg Keys
Former ambulance driver, Reg Keys is the father of a Royal Military policeman, Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, who was one of six Red Caps killed by an Iraqi mob in Majar al-Kabir in June 2003 ... Full biography
Robert Browne
Robert Browne, who is the Liberal Democrats candidate in Sedgefield, was born on 26 May 1943 in Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire. Robert Browne, sometimes referred to as Robert Woodthorpe-Browne ... Full biography
Jonathan Cockburn
Jonathan Cockburn is running in Sedgefield for The Blair Must Go Party. Previously a Labour Party supporter, Cockburn was so dismayed about Tony Blair's decision to invade Iraq that he decided to stand against the Prime Minister ... Full biography
