Goodman keeps Bishop seat
LABOUR'S Helen Goodman retained the Bishop Auckland seat today, but her majority was almost halved.
Ms Goodman hailed the result as a victory for the people of Bishop Auckland and she pledged to work for all her constituents.
She picked up 16,023 votes, with Conservative Barbara Harrison taking 10,805 votes. Liberal Democrat Mark Wilkes was just behind on 9,189 votes.
Ms Goodman said: "This was a hard-fought campaign with strong feelings, big issues and major concerns on all sides.
"The real victors are the people of Bishop Auckland. They have reaffirmed their belief in our democratic values. It is a great privilege to serve them and I will do my best to serve them in the next parliament, irrespective of their political opinions."
Ms Goodman's majority fell from 10,047 in 2005 to 5,218. Her share of the vote dropped from 50 per cent in 2005 to 39 per cent, with the Tories taking 26.3 per cent of the vote and the Lib Dems 22.3 per cent.
There was a 7.2 per cent swing from Labour to the Conservatives, a comparable percentage swing to other North East seats.
The result in full:
Helen Goodman (Labour) 16,023
Barbara Harrison (Conservative) 10,805
Mark Wilkes (Liberal Democrat) 9,189
Adam Walker (BNP) 2,036
Sam Zair (Local Liberals) 1,964
Dave Brothers (UKIP) 1,119