Blair bows out with a 'thank you'

He was at the Trimdon Constituency Labour Club where his career as an MP began 24 years ago, to tell local party members he had quit to take up a role as a peace envoy in the Middle East.

The Blair motorcade arrived in bright sunshine and with a marked absence of prime ministerial protocol he was grabbed by well-wishers and given several bear hugs on his way into the club. Cherie Blair was welcomed with equal warmth by local party workers who seemed close to tears.

Mr Blair opened his address to the packed hall by saying: "It is good to be back at the place where it all began. A place that has sustained me through all the years."

He went on to explain how his new role in the Middle East would prevent him from visiting the constituency, and told the meeting: "It's only right that the constituency has a full-time Member of Parliament." He said that despite his new role he would still be visiting the North East.

He ended his 20-minute speech with the words "Thank You" and was given another standing ovation, after receiving the same accolade in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Blair was thought to have marked the occasion with a pint of Black Sheep bitter in the Dun Cow pub a few miles away in the village of Sedgefield, where he took US President George Bush for fish and chips in 2003.

After the hour-long meeting, his election agent John Burton said: "It was an emotional farewell. I started out (on Wednesday) morning as agent to the PM, by the afternoon I was agent to an MP and now I'm redundant."

The search for Mr Blair's successor has already begun, and a by-election could be held as early as July 19. Mr Burton said: "It would be nice to have a local MP, somebody who works hard. Tony has done a great job as an MP and is respected for that."

Mr Blair represented Sedgefield since 1983 and at the 2005 General Election increased his majority to 18,457. It was at the Labour Club that in the early hours of May 2, 1997, he celebrated becoming the country's youngest prime minister since 1812. It was at the same village club last month that he announced his plans to stand down as Prime Minister and told supporters it was "where it all started so only fitting it was where it should all end".