Last week’s general election witnessed a night of great drama across the country as the Conservative government lost its majority in the House of Commons.
The drama extended to County Durham where the Conservative Party had expected to pick up seats after polling companies predicted a landslide win for Theresa May’s party.
One of the top Tory targets in the North East was the Bishop Auckland constituency, sending Boris Johnson to Shildon Civic Hall to deliver the party’s keynote speech on Brexit to the national print and broadcast media.
However, the landslide failed to materialise and all North East seats remained in Labour control, with one Tory held seat, Stockton South, returning to Labour control, although the Middlesbrough South and Cleveland East seat previously held by Labour did go the other way.
As the night wore on at Spennymoor Leisure Centre it was clear that Labour supporters monitoring the count were worried, but in the end, Bishop Auckland MP, Helen Goodman, who was defending a majority of 3,508 was eventually returned with a much-reduced majority of 502.
Speaking to the Crier immediately after the declaration Mrs Goodman said: “It was a tight result but not unclear. The people in Bishop Auckland voted for a Labour MP and they got a Labour MP, so I am very happy about that.”
Mrs Goodman acknowledged that Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn should be credited for producing a manifesto that proved popular across the country and suggested that while Theresa May had been “weakened”, there was a “poverty of candidates,” that could replace her.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
