It was a day of huge symbolism in December 2019 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in the County Durham constituency which for years had been the patch of Labour premier Tony Blair.
Sedgefield was one of a swathe of ‘red wall’ seats where voters cast off decades of tradition to vote Conservative for the first time, ushering in an 80-seat majority for what seemed to be an invincible PM.
“I know that people may have been breaking the voting habits of generations to vote for us,” Mr Johnson said. “And I want the people of the North East to know that we, in the Conservative Party, and I will repay your trust.”
