THE constituency of Stockton North was formed in 1983 and is unusual in that it has only ever had two MPs, both Labour – Frank Cook, who was deselected by his own party in 2010 and replaced with Alex Cunningham, who has held the seat since.

Gone are the landslide-type majorities of the 1990s, of 15-20,000 though. Last time Mr Cunningham increased his majority slightly to just over 8,000. A healthy majority, but it has not stopped the Conservatives believing there is a chance it could turn blue on June 8.

The constituency includes Billingham, the northern part of Stockton, Norton, Wolviston, Port Clarence, and the villages to the west of Stockton.

It is an area of heavy industry, with a strong chemicals sector, but its unemployment rate is still high and it is significantly less prosperous than neighbouring Stockton South.

The Northern Echo:

CANDIDATE: Alex Cunningham, Labour Party

Labour candidate Alex Cunningham, a former print and radio journalist-turned PR consultant, was a councillor for the former Cleveland County for seven years, followed by 11 years on Stockton Borough Council.

He said his campaign was largely based on the “Tory threat” to the accident and emergency and maternity units at the University Hospital of North Tees, and fighting against education funding cuts in real terms which would see the area’s school budgets rise by just one per cent over the next seven years, a “substantial cut”.

He said he would fight to get Teesside to be the centre of excellence for carbon capture and storage technology and backed a plan to use redundant wharves on the Tees to decommission and recycle former oil rig platforms into floating accommodation for offshore windfarm workers.

The Northern Echo:

CANDIDATE: Mark Fletcher, Conservative Party

The Conservative hopeful for the Stockton North seat is Mark Fletcher, originally from Doncaster, who works for Prime Minster Theresa May’s trade envoy to Uganda and Rwanda. He said he wants to use his skills in bringing new jobs and investment to Stockton North and campaign for more investment in transport infrastructure around Stockton, including the “overdue” upgrade of the A66 and improved rail links.

He said: “Stockton North has been Labour for a long time but I think the result will be a lot closer than people think. I think people will realise that they want a strong leader to negotiate Brexit and Theresa May will be just that.”

The Northern Echo:

CANDIDATE: Ted Strike, UKIP

Ukip candidate Ted Strike, an Ingleby Barwick town councillor, came third in Stockton South in 2015 and has now turned his attention to the north.

He said he was opposing Stockton Council’s plans to build a Hilton by Hampton hotel in Stockton by borrowing money, and increase the powers of the Mayor to incorporate the police and crime commissioner position, “saving a fortune”.

He is in favour of a hard Brexit, and would like to reduce the overseas aid budget to increase funding to the NHS and social care, as well as boosting armed forces and police numbers.

The Northern Echo:

CANDIDATE: Emma Robson, Green Party

Green Party candidate Emma Robson, who is autistic, says she will campaign for increased support for people with disabilities, which she said had been “cut drastically” by the coalition and the Conservatives.

She said the Greens would support people through a new care and support service to help them access employment and avoid the “murderous sanctions” regime.

She said that there was a feeling in Stockton North that the area was ignored by both main parties in between elections, and said she would work hard to make constituents’ voices heard in Parliament by opposing further cuts to services.

The Northern Echo:

CANDIDATE: Sarah Brown, Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats’ Sarah Brown, who is based in Manchester, is campaigning on health and social care, and said mental health conditions should be given the same status as physical, meaning waiting time standards are imposed on mental health illnesses. She was previously a councillor and served as mayor of her village, and said she is excited to “get stuck in” at a key time for the country.

Northern Echo political commentator Chris Lloyd says...

THIS safe Labour seat only gains the election headlines when the party tries to inflict a wound upon itself.

For example, there was drama in the early 1980s when Bill Rodgers, who had been Stockton’s Labour MP since 1962, became worried at the party’s leftward drift under Michael Foot and became one of the “Gang of Four” which formed the SDP. At the 1983 election, he stood against Labour, and lost to Frank Cook.

The seat remained out of the headlines until 2010 when Mr Cook was deselected and he stood against Labour – but he whistled in fifth.

This time around, there are no self-inflicted Labour wounds and so there should be no headlines. On a list of Labour seats most vulnerable to a Tory surge, it comes in at 105th – Mrs May would need a super-landslide to even threaten to win it.

However, there’s a large Ukip vote looking for a home in a constituency that voted 66 per cent to quit the EU. If the Tories pick up all the leavers, there’s an outside chance of a shock – but it is noticeable that the major visits are going elsewhere and the bookies have Alex Cunningham at 1/5 favourite.

In 2015...

Electorate: 66,126
Turnout: 59.84%

Alex Cunningham (Lab) 19,436
Chris Daniels (Con) 11,069
Mandy Boylett (UKIP) 7,581
Anthony Sycamore (Lib Dem) 884
John Tait (NE Party) 601

Labour majority: 8,367