Darlington is the largest town in County Durham. Its heritage is steeped in the railways, and it was the site of the main station on the first passenger line in the world, from Shildon to Stockton, and is still one of the main half-way stations on the GNER route from Edinburgh to London.
The economy of this seat is traditionally based on the rail industry and heavy engineering, but with its demise local industry has moved on to new technologies and communications.
The main employers in the area now include the Rothmans factory (owned by British American Tobacco), Fujitsu, Samsung, as well as the pre-existing blue chip companies Cleveland Bridge (Kaverner) and AMEC Construction.
The rise of the new call culture industry has also impacted on Darlington. AXA Insurance and the mobile phone company Orange (who transformed the former Cummins engine component factory) both have call centres in the town.
This seat has been held by both the Conservative and Labour parties for substantial periods over the last 50 years. The Conservatives held it from 1951 to 1964, and Labour from 1964 until 1983. It then went back into Conservative hands until 1992, when Alan Milburn won it.