John Burton (political agent) John Burton (political agent) John Burton was a Labour Party councillor in County Durham, England. He was a member of Sedgefield Borough Council, representing the ward of Fishburn and Old Trimdon. However, he is most notable for being the constituency agent of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who represented the Sedgefield constituency from 1983 until standing down as Prime Minister in 2007. Burton was one of the first to spot the potential of the young Tony Blair. When the new Sedgefield constituency was created for the 1983 general election, which included Burton's home of Trimdon, the local Labour Party
Tony Lloyd remained a Trafford councillor until 1984, rising to the rank of Deputy Labour Leader. Lloyd entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Stretford on 9 June 1983, after the 1983 general election. He was an opposition whip between 1986 and 1987, and became the opposition spokesman for transport (1987–1992), employment (1992–1994), the environment (1994–1995), and foreign affairs (1995–1997). Constituency boundaries were reformed for the 1997 general election, and Lloyd was selected for the Manchester Central constituency, where he returned at each subsequent general election through to 2010. Following the 1997 general election which returned Tony Blair as