Polling day - but many constituents stayed away Tony Blair's personal majority in Sedgefield fell by 8,000 votes. Was something going on close to home, or was this just another symptom of voter apathy, asks BBC News Online's Ryan Dilley. They have been reclaiming the road signs on the approach to Sedgefield.
Tape marks are all that remains of the election campaign high-jinx.
But they have missed one sign. This is Tony Blair country, Sedgefield and its pit village satellites. Local resentment Turnout in this constituency was low, and the stayaways shaved thousands off Mr Blair's majority. In Trimdon Colliery, Tony and Cherie Blair have their constituency home - the charmingly named Mirabella. This moniker seems somewhat incongruous in the squat village nested in hills above Sedgefield.