TORIES 'NOT SAFE' AT GALA

The chairman of the Durham Miners' Association has said he would "rather be found dead in a ditch" than invite local Tory MPs to this year's Durham Miners' Gala.  The event takes place in July and attracts tens of thousands of people each year.  The controversy has arisen because four of the county's MPs are now Conservatives, including seats that turned blue last month for the first time in history.  The event has been heavily politicised for years and is often used as a means to berate the Tories.

In recent years the rise of Corbyn has seen the rhetoric stoked up further as he became the first Labour leader to repeatedly address the event - every year since 2016.  Before then the only Labour leader to make a speech since the 1980s was Ed Miliband in 2012.  However, as many critics have pointed out, the party no longer has a monopoly on the working classes.  Furthermore, the event has been held since 1871, predating the decline of the coal industry by a century.  With the age of alternative fuels one could argue that pit closures were inevitable regardless of who was in government.  As it happened, most pits closed under Labour administrations, primarily that of Harold Wilson, but the hard left aren't going to let facts get in the way of some Tory-bashing.

Alan Mardghum added that he couldn't stop Tories attending the gala, but suggested they may be physically attacked and that they might want police protection.  The only reason they may be assaulted is because of years of hard left baiting by people like Alan.  Regardless of the threats, two Tory MPs have already confirmed they intend to be there, with new Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davidson defiantly tweeting Mardghum "See you there, Alan".

It must truly hurt that places like County Durham turned their backs on Labour, but turn their backs they did.  Live with it.

Bishop Auckland 2019 general election

Dehenna Davison (Con) 24,067 (53.7%) +6.8%
Helen Goodman (Lab) 16,105 (35.9%) -12.1%
Nicholas Brown (Brexit) 2,500 (5.6%) New
Ray Georgeson (Lib Dem) 2,133 (4.8%) +2.0%

(First time seat has ever been held by the Conservatives)

Darlington 2019 general election

Peter Gibson (Con) 20,901 (48.1%) +4.8%
Jenny Chapman (Lab) 17,607 (40.5%) -10.1%
Anne-Marie Curry (Lib Dem) 2,097 (4.8%) +2.5%
Dave Mawson (Brexit) 1,544 (3.5%) New
Matthew Snedker (Green) 1,057 (2.4%) +1.2%
Monty Brack (Ind) 292 (0.7%) New

(First time seat has been held by the Conservatives since 1987)

North West Durham 2019 general election

Richard Holden (Con) 19,990 (41.9%) +7.5%
Laura Pidcock (Lab) 18,846 (39.5%) -13.3%
John Wolstenholme (Brexit) 3,193 (6.7%) New
Michael Peacock (Lib Dem) 2,831 (5.9%) -1.2%
Watts Stelling (Ind) 1,216 (2.6%) New
David Sewell (Green) 1,173 (2.5%) +1.4%
David Lindsay (Ind) 414 (0.9%) New

(First time seat has ever been held by the Conservatives)

Sedgefield 2019 general election

Paul Howell (Con) 19,609 (47.2%) +8.4%
Phil Wilson (Lab) 15,096 (36.3%) -17.1%
David Bull (Brexit) 3,518 (8.5%) New
Dawn Welsh (Lib Dem) 1,955 (4.7%) +2.8%
John Furness (Green) 994 (2.4%) +0.7%
Michael Joyce (Ind) 394 (0.9%) New

(First time seat has been held by the Conservatives since 1931)