Newton Aycliffe’s defeated Conservative MP has told Aycliffe Today that he’s proud to have served what he describes as “my world” for the last five years.
Paul Howell says he was elected in 2019 “on a blue tide” – but now he’s going out “on a low blue tide”.
He polled just 8,195 votes in the 2024 General Election for the new constituency of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor – losing more than 11,000 supporters from his 2019 victory.
Labour candidate Alan Strickland won with 18,394 votes, while Reform candidate John Grant finished second with 9,555 votes.
Mr Howell told Aycliffe Today: “It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to have been an MP for what I call my world.
“I was brought up in Newton Aycliffe and I was delighted to have based my constituency office on Aycliffe Business Park.
“Aycliffe will always be special to me and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many people and businesses.
“Yes, we have Hitachi, but while pets aren’t just for Christmas, Hitachi isn’t just for elections.
“It’s important to the business park for its jobs and the supply chain, but there are so many other companies on the business park as well, many of whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the last five years.
“You look at Gestamp and its scale, but there’s 3M, Ebac, Roman, Husqvarna, BTS – and then lots of brilliant small companies like Digital Edge, great guys who are passionate about their area.
“The Aycliffe Business magazine and the guys at Newton Press make sure there’s a tremendous community feel about the business park and town as well.
“It’s just a fantastic business park, the biggest in the North-East, with fantastic people, and I’ll always do whatever I can – now as an ex-MP – to do whatever I can to promote it.”
Mr Strickland’s victory was eventually announced shortly after 3am on Friday morning, after the election count at Spennymoor Leisure Centre.
Speaking after the result, Mr Howell thanked the area’s residents and urged the newly-elected Labour MP to prioritise the community.
He said: “I came in in 2019 on a high blue tide and I’m going out on a low blue tide.
“Of all the people you meet the most important are the constituents. From Trimdon to Ferryhill to Chilton to Aycliffe to Sedgefield and the many villages in between.
“You are fantastic constituents and I have really enjoyed my time serving you.”
The political landscape across County Durham and Teesside turned from red to blue in 2019, including in nearby Bishop Auckland and Darlington, but both constituencies returned Labour victories on Friday morning.
