A bereaved father's stand makes Iraq the key to Sedgefield

Norwegian, Ukrainian, French, German and the Dutch media have all been in town. Al-Jazeera are on their way, as are a host of celebrities. Ten days to go before the polls and Tony Blair's constituency is buzzing.

Norwegian, Ukrainian, French, German and the Dutch media have all been in town. Al-Jazeera are on their way, as are a host of celebrities. Ten days to go before the polls and Tony Blair's constituency is buzzing.

The influx, however, is not to see the Prime Minister. He has been too busy to pay more than one visit to Sedgefield since the election was called. The focus of attention is a somewhat unlikely candidate, Reg Keys, a retired ambulance worker from Hull, and a man revelling in Mr Blair's latest embarrassment over the Iraq war.

Mr Keys is the father of Lance Corporal Tom Keys, a soldier killed in Iraq, and his campaign has become a rallying point for those who are angry at what they see as Mr Blair's perfidy over the war, and believe payback should take place in his own back yard.

Until now the Iraq war has largely been notable for its absence on the campaign landscape. But this weekend, with the leak of the Attorney General's reservations about the legality of the invasion, it appears to be back with a vengeance.

Mr Keys said: "I am not surprised by what has come out about the Attorney General's first advice. What we need to see now is the second advice in which he apparently told Mr Blair it was alright to go to war after all.

"The Prime Minister and Mr Bush wanted to carry out the attack before the weapons inspectors actually came out and said they had found nothing."

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are also capitalising on the Prime Minister's discomfort, and there is a new spring in the step of Mr Keys' campaign team. Martin Bell positively pirouettes as he declares this is the breakthrough he has been predicting.

Mr Bell, the independent who was famously victorious over Neil Hamilton at Tatton, is among a group of vocal public figures here to help Mr Keys.

Among those due to turn up are the musicians Brian Eno and John Williams; Terry Jones, the former Monty Python actor; Richard Dawkins, the scientist, and Frederick Forsyth, the author. The Bishop of Durham has sent a message of support to a local anti-war group, and the latest coup, say the Keys camp, is that Michael Moore, the American film-maker and George Bush's bête noire is also on the way.

Terry Jones says he is "slightly wary of being seen as a kind of rent-a-celeb but I really feel I ought to support Reg Keys. What I like about him that he is a very level-headed guy. The way he talks about his son is very moving, but very straightforward - not sentimental at all. His anger that Blair lied in order to get British support to join the Americans will resonate with an awful lot of people."

Richard Dawkins added: "I have given money to the Keys campaign, and I urge all those who love the Labour Party to support Reg Keys any way they can.

"[Mr] Blair scared Parliament into backing Bush's war, by peddling a falsehood about weapons of mass destruction. Now he's trying to scare us with another bogeyman: Michael Howard. Vote Labour or else. Tony Blair desperately wants us to 'move on' after Iraq. You bet he does! I am one of the many voters who won't move on until Blair moves out. Out of Downing Street."

There are quite a few independent candidates - among a record 155 in this election - who refuse to "move on" from Iraq. For example, Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon, a fusilier, was also killed in Iraq, is standing against Adam Ingram, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, in East Kilbride.

Mr Keys' problem is that there are no shortage of independent candidates in Sedgefield. There are four others focusing on Iraq, and Group Captain Al Lockwood, the Conservative, and Robert Browne, the Liberal Democrat, are keen to prove their anti-war credential. Both attended a meeting in the parish hall addressed by Hans Von Sponeck, a former United Nations assistant secretary-general.

The Keys campaign lobbied for the others to stand down, just as the field was left clear at Tatton. Mr Lockwood, however, is believed to have refused. Mr Browne said: "I had a call from Brian Eno, who is, after all, a Lib Dem supporter, asking me to step aside. I pointed out this was pointless unless Al Lockwood did the same, and he was not going to. The fact is in Sedgefield Iraq is not just an issue for Reg Keys."

It is, indeed, difficult to get away from Iraq - there is the visit by Mr Sponeck, Group Captain Lockwood was a military spokesman during the war, a "peace camp" has been set up on the edge of the constituency, and two buses - one for Mr Keys and another once used to ferry human shields to Iraq - are ever present.

Joe Letts, the driver of the bus that was once in Iraq, is now carrying on his protest at Sedgefield. He said: "There is of course a direct link between the two places. What happened to Baghdad and the rest of Iraq, the killings, the destruction were the responsibility of Blair, the man who represents this place."

Mr Keys' campaign does not suffer from a lack of funds (a cheque from a "well-wisher" in Hertfordshire arrived just yesterday), and it has an unexpected sleekness. He has three offices in the constituency, three more than the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, and more than 30 staff.

Bob Clay, a former Labour MP, is the agent, and this week Derek Cattell, a senior figure in Labour's executive committee at Sedgefield defected to sign the nomination papers for Mr Keys. Most of those working for Mr Keys are former Labour members, and the bitter acrimony in the party over Iraq is never far below the surface. When Mr Keys is stopped from entering the Labour Club in Trimdon by a party official, one of his entourage jeer "how are things? Still a member of Militant are you?" Inside the club there are angry complaints that the real extremists are those who have "hijacked" Mr Keys' campaign for their own agenda.

Mr Keys, 52, in his tweed jacket, groomed moustache and tightly knitted tie could be mistaken for a pro-hunting campaigner. And there are many people in Sedgefield who are unaware of who he is.

When Mr Keys talks in his Solihull accent, his manner is somewhat shy, the delivery, at times, is ponderous, but the attack on Mr Blair is unsparing.

"I believe Tony Blair has blood on his hands for those who died in Iraq, British soldiers and the people of Iraq," he says. "My son was betrayed. I countersigned his application because he was under 18, he went to war proudly because he believed what our country's leader told him. If he was killed by WMD, I wouldn't be here. But now we know, of course, that Blair lied."

Lance Corporal Keys was among a group of Royal Military police killed in a confrontation with an armed crowd. He was due home, and had sent his parents photos of his packed bags.

It was a particularly savage slaughter and his father's voice falters as he talks about it. "I dressed his body for the funeral. I brushed his hair and straightened his clothes. Half his face was missing, he had 31 bullet holes in him. Of course I'm passionate about this campaign. I'm doing this for Tom and all the others who died."

After burying their son Mr Keys and his wife, Sally, 50, talked about what they should do, and the idea of standing for election took root. They were surprised by their decision. Both had spent their working lives in the health service, and neither were overtly political. In the past they had voted Labour.

The first plan was to contest the seat of Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence. "But then I thought, 'why not Blair?'', said Mr Keys.

The message of trust lost through the Iraq war did appear to strike a note with at least some voters in Sedgefield. In the village of Heighington, Peter Wilson, formerly of the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, now an IT engineer, had no doubt: "Yes, I'll vote for him. I supported the war because I believed what we were told about WMDs. Now we know Blair misled us, that's enough for me."

At the urban end of the constituency in Newton Aycliffe, Susan Walters, a housewife, 42, was almost swayed by Mr Keys: "I voted for Labour the last two times, but not this time. Iraq is fading away, but it is a matter of trust, and I don't think you can trust Blair with anything important any longer. I am tempted to go for Mr Keys, his story is very moving."

Others, however, were unconvinced. Alec Hindmarch, 68, a retired draughtsman, said people had to be realistic. "One can have sympathy for the guy, sure. But there is lot more to being an MP than personal grief. I am not going to give away my vote because I feel sorry for the the man. Also, is there really any serious chance of Blair losing? I don't think so."

Mr Blair has a majority of 17,713 in a rock solid Labour constituency. The only occasion in modern British politics in which a Prime Minister could be said to have lost a seat was when Ramsay MacDonald, who had just surrendered the leadership of an increasingly conservative dominated coalition government for an election, was beaten by Manny Shinwell in 1935.

Isn't this nothing more than a highly-publicised tilting at windmills? Martin Bell shook his head. "I was told in the early stages if that I stood no chance. I remember The Guardian saying it was 'an amateurish campaign run like a Blue Peter appeal'. Well, these things take on a momentum of their own, and this is happening here. Reg Keys' campaign is much more organised and better funded than mine was at a similar stage. He is picking up votes, there is no doubt about that."

John Burton, Mr Blair's agent at Sedgefield who is doing, it is said, the job of an "unofficial" MP because the Prime Minister is so busy with affairs of state, dismisses both Mr Keys' chances and the effect of the war on the electorate.

"Iraq is not an issue," he said. "And if people do talk about Iraq it is to say how good it is that we got rid of Saddam, and now there are democratic elections.

"I also don't understand all this thing about the Prime Minister misleading the country. I have spoken to Tony directly about this, and he told me that he wasn't just depending on MI5 or American intelligence, but the intelligence of other countries as well.

"He said he wasn't misleading anyone, and if he says that, I believe him 100 per cent. Reg Keys has no chance of winning here, or even getting many votes."

At Chisholm, a local bookmakers, Mr Keys' supporters place bets on him to win at 50-1. Jill Wilson, in her early 20s, who works there, said she had voted Labour in the past but will not do so again.

"I am a little bit older now and a bit more mature. I think there are a lot of things wrong with this government and I didn't believe in the war. I don't know who I shall vote for, but people should not take our vote for granted."

The independent charge

By Matthew Beard

A record number of independent candidates are standing at this general election, aiming to capitalise on growing disillusionment with party politics. There are 155 independent candidates in 2005 compared with 138 in 2001.

Most are standing to show their opposition to the Iraq war, but others represent a wide range of issues, both local and national.

They are being encouraged by the success in 2001 of Dr Richard Taylor, the only independent to win a seat in Parliament. The MP for Wyre Forest had eloquently campaigned against the closure of the Kidderminster hospital.

Martin Bell, the former journalist who stood on an anti-sleaze ticket against Tory Neil Hamilton in 1997, is also inspiring this year's field of single issue candidates.

Mr Bell believes it is a "good time to be an independent candidate" due to a "growing disillusionment with party politics". A successful independent campaign has to have "a good cause, a well-known candidate and a vulnerable incumbent," he said

According to the Electoral Commission, 61 new parties registered in 2004 - a rise of 13 per cent over the previous year. Almost half of these new parties represent special interest groups or those campaigning on single issues.

The Electoral Commission's chief executive, Peter Wardle, said: "This growth in political party registration provides a positive indication of the health of our democracy.

"The rate and rise of single issue parties in particular suggests that, far from being a nation plagued by political apathy, people in the UK are feeling increasingly engaged about issues that most affect their everyday lives."

Two independents plan to take Margaret Hodge, the Children's minister, to task over her alleged negligence as head of Islington council when a paedophile ring preyed on children's homes in the London borough.

Independent candidates from the Save the Scottish Regiments movement also aim to target Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister.

Another breed of independent candidate is emerging which may be of greater concern for the main parties. For example, in the mining town of Mansfield, a feeling that there is an alternative to party politics has already led to independent control of the council with possible repercussions for the general election.

ROSE GENTLE

After her son was killed in Basra last year, Rose Gentle, 40, launched her own campaign to end the war in Iraq called "Justice for Gordon Gentle". She is standing as a candidate in East Kilbride, the seat of the Armed Forces minister, Adam Ingram, with support from the parents of other dead soldiers, anti-war activists and community leaders from her home city, Glasgow.

KATE ALLSOP

The businesswoman and former Tory is standing on an independent ticket in Ashfield, where Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, won with a 13,268 majority in 2001. With opposition to the Iraq war at the centre of her manifesto, she also promises to "adhere in Parliament to the democratic principle of voting for what the electorate wants".

CRAIG MURRAY

Britain's former ambassador in Uzbekistan is standing against Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, in the Blackburn constituency. Mr Murray was removed from his post after he accused the British Government of turning a blind eye to torture in Uzbekistan. The Foreign Office retaliated by accusing him of drunkenness and trading visas for sex with local women. Despite being cleared, the 45-year-old Scot was condemned for speaking out publicly. He is campaigning on Britain's foreign policy, especially the war in Iraq and MI6's alleged acceptance of intelligence obtained under torture.

DR RICHARD TAYLOR

The former hospital consultant, who won the safe Labour seat of Wyre Forest with a majority of 17,000 in 2001, is confident of another win. Dr Taylor's victory led to a government moratorium on hospital closures and the introduction of new consultation procedures, which he monitors as a member of the Parliamentary Health Select Committee. He has defended his "single-issue" status, saying he is effective because he knows more about the NHS than almost everybody else.

STEWART RICKERSEY

The Nottinghamshire businessman is standing against a former environment minister, Alan Meale, supported by independent-controlled Mansfield District Council, previously held for 30 years by Labour. Mr Rickersey, formerly the managing director of the local newspaper and now a producer of TV travel programmes, has no single issue. He believes in "a momentum of change for its own sake".

PATRICIA TABRAM

The "cannabis gran" is standing in Neath against Peter Hain, the Leader of the House of Commons, as one of 19 candidates in the Legalise Cannabis Alliance. Mrs Tabram, 65, said: "I was at their conference in Norwich and they have asked me to be their candidate. They say I'm their face of middle England." Mrs Tabram, from Hexham, Northumberland, eats marijuana five times a day to combat neck and back pain.

DEMETRIOUS PANTON

A victim of child abuse in Islington, Demetrius Panton is standing against the Children's minister, Margaret Hodge, who was leader of the London borough council between 1982 and 1992. Mr Panton has accused her of failing to act despite receiving warnings - an allegation Mrs Hodge denies.

Battleground Sedgefield

SITTING MP Tony Blair

HISTORY Since it was created in its present form in 1983, Tony Blair has been its only MP. In 1983 his majority was over 8,000, in 1997 it was over 25,000, but in 2001 there was a swing against him of nearly 5 per cent.

SOCIAL PROFILE A coalmining legacy has shaped attitudes. The small, well-heeled town of Sedgefield itself is not typical: more than a third of constituents are in council housing and house prices are half the UK average.

EMPLOYMENT The pits closed long ago.The economy has diversified into light engineering, distributive trades and services. There has been investment from Japanese companies, such as Fujitsu. Unemployment was down to 3 per cent by January 2004, less than the UK average of 3.3 per cent then.

ISSUES Jobs, training and regeneration. Some multinational corporations have recently laid off local workers. Trust in Mr Blair is at an all-time low after Iraq.

RESULT 2001
Lab 26,110 (64.9%)
Con 8,397 (20.9%)
Lib Dem 3,624 (9.0%)
UKIP 974 (2.4%)
Others 1,153 (2.8%)

TURNOUT 62.0%
LAB MAJORITY 17,713

CANDIDATES 2005

Tony Blair (Labour)
Robert Browne (Liberal Democrats)
Grp Capt Al Lockwood (Conservative)
Reg Keys (Independent)
and seven others