2007 Sedgefield by-election 2007 Sedgefield by-election The Sedgefield by-election, 2007 was a by-election held on 19 July 2007 for the British House of Commons constituency of Sedgefield in County Durham. The Ealing Southall by-election was also held on 19 July. The by-election was triggered when Tony Blair, the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield and former Prime Minister, "resigned" to become envoy for the international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East. To resign as an MP, Blair accepted the office of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern, thereby deliberately disqualifying himself from Parliament and causing the by-election. Blair
Premiership of Tony Blair a £4,000,000 deal, in exchange his personal diaries, with a publishing firm owned by Rupert Murdoch. On 5 September 2006, a letter signed by 17 Labour MPs called for Tony Blair to resign. On the same day, 49 other Labour MPs signed a statement supporting Blair's departure timetable. The next day "The Sun" reported that Blair would step down as Leader of the Labour Party on 31 May 2007, and as Prime Minister when a new leader is elected. That same day, seven of the MPs who signed the letter resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretaries (unpaid and unofficial posts assisting