IT seems a safe bet that Labour will retain the Sedgefield seat, but I would guess with a massively reduced majority.

The Blair effect has gone, which means there is now a significant battle for the second place. Why?

Because a General Election is only two years away and the second placed party will then be viewed as the official opposition party and gain significant Press coverage.

Gordon Brown's wobbly performance at his first Prime Minister's Questions must have offered great hope to all opposing parties. However, it will be a great challenge for any to muster a major challenge to Labour.

It is doubtful the Tories, who are detested in the mid/north area of Sedgefield borough due to their 1980s' treatment of nearby mining folk, will ever be forgiven.

The Liberal Democrats, while strong in the south of the borough, are non-existent in the mid/north area. So who are the dark horses for second place? UKIP will be boosted by Tony Blair's treacherous signing of the European Constitution - sorry Treaty - while the far-right BNP will be boosted by the ongoing terrorist situation that they have made very much their own territory.

I look forward to seeing how they all fare.

Mark Anderson, Middleton St George.