There are many in Sedgefield who did much for Tony Blair during his 24 years as MP for the County Durham constituency. But it was only Stephen Elliott who agreed to sacrifice his spare bedroom window for the then prime minister, his neighbour in the former mining village of Trimdon Colliery.

“When George Bush landed his helicopter here in 2003, I let the American secret service take over the back bedroom. They took the glass out and had snipers up there when the president and his wife went in to see Tony and Cherie,” said the 60-year-old builder as he ate sausage and mash in his garden on Thursday.

Elliott, whose late father was on the local Labour party executive during the Blair era, saw Nigel Farage on Wednesday’s newsLabour which would see the Tories stand down in seats where – to quote Farage’s press officer, Gawain Towler – “no one has ever kissed a Tory but they kissed us in the Euro elections and voted heavily leave”.

Labour ought to have breathed a sigh of relief when a senior Tory said Farage would not be allowed “anywhere near government” because he was not a “fit and proper person”.

They know their once rock-solid vote in many leave areas, particularly in the former coalfields, is looking shaky: in May’s European elections, the Brexit party was easily the largest party in County Durham, winning 39.5% of the vote, with Labour second on 19.3%. And in the last Durham county council elections, in 2017, Labour lost 20 seats (nine to independents,