Constituency Briefing: Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Sedgefield)

We begin our series of marginal seat briefings with the County Durham constituency of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, previously known as Sedgefield. Sedgefield has an iconic status even among the red wall seats as it is the former seat of Labour’s most electorally successful Prime Minister (so far) Tony Blair. Blair held the seat from 1983 until he stepped down from Parliament following his resignation as Prime Minister in 2007.

Until 2019, Sedgefield constituency or the seats covering the area following boundary changes had been solidly Labour since 1935. Blair’s largest majority was in the 1997 landslide when his winning margin was a seemingly unassailable 25,143. The loss of Sedgefield in 2019 therefore was emblematic of the changes in voting habits in working class communities across the north of England.

For Labour to form a majority government this is a seat that the party will need to take back.

Our latest report, which can be downloaded below, looks in detail at the local issues in Sedgefield, the candidate likely to win and the post-election future. 

If you would like to discuss this area further, or any other constituency, please contact Dan Humphreys.