Sedgefield, the town after which the seat is named, is home to 5,000 souls and forms the basis of Conservative support in the constituency. But Labour leader Tony Blair is compensated for this by the votes he receives from the former coal field surrounding the town.
Once heavily reliant on its traditional industrial heritage, Sedgefield’s economy continues to recover and adapt following the decline of staple north east industries such as coal and steel. Diversification into light engineering, distributive trades and the service sector have all played a part here, as has inward investment from Japanese companies such as Fujitsu and Nippon Silica Glass.
The seat lies in the south east of County Durham, almost surrounding the Darlington seat on its south border. Aside from the town of Sedgefield major population centres include the Newton Aycliffe and larger former pit villages such as Chilton, Ferryhill and Trimdon.