A life in pictures: John Burton of New Labour and Trimdon
He was New Labour before anyone realised there was an old Labour. He was the chairman of Sedgefield council in the late 1980s. He was a friend of the stars, from Lonnie Donegan to Bill Clinton, but he knew absolutely everyone in south Durham. He was never without his smiling eyes and hearty laugh. He was deeply committed to his family, his wife Lily and the church β St Mary Magdalen β at the heart of the community in Trimdon where he was born in 1940 and where he died last Friday.
READ FIRST: OBITUARY OF JOHN BURTON, THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED TONY BLAIR
And β a point not touched on in many of this weekβs political obituaries β he was the King of Nettles.
In 1982, he won the Trimdon Nettle Growing Championship, which some sources refer to as the coveted British title for this particular pursuit.
The championship was for non-gardeners and was judged by The Northern Echo. It attracted 30 entries, which was more than the same dayβs leek show.
It was taken very seriously. There were unconfirmed reports of a rash of nettle-slashing in the Trimdon area as competitors cut their neighbours down to size, forcing people to scour the countryside in search of the tallest specimens.
βI didnβt have to bother,β said John. βOne was growing right here on my doorstep.β
Literally on his doorstep.
It was a whopping 8ft 4Β½ inches tall, and it won the prestigious title.
In his victory speech, John proudly told how, despite juggling his teaching career and council business, heβd been mentoring stinging nettles in his garden for a decade.
The 1982 title, though, turned out to be the high water mark of his nettle growing. When the Echo returned to Front Street in 1983 to see how the King of the Nettle was doing, there was a sting in the tale.
Lily told the reporter: βI was ashamed when he won that competition last year. I want a nice lawn and shrubs. I want to be able to sit in the garden and even play putting on it.β
John interjected: βCanβt you make do with playing out of the rough?β
It was no good. It wasnβt just Lily who John was up against.
As the political obituaries told, in May 1983, John had played a crucial part in getting a young London barrister selected, and then elected, as the MP for Sedgefield. Without a home in the constituency, the new MP β one Tony Blair β had moved into the spare room and he was, according to the Echo, backing Lilyβs βtough tidy-up lineβ.
βSheβs given me six weeks while the schools are on holiday to create something fit for Home and Garden,β said John. βIβm not sure if I can β there are a few international football matches to consider.β
A weed, as they say, is a long time in politics.
Tearfully, John got on with his task. βSome people just canβt see the beauty in a nettle, but they were like children to me,β he told the Echo.
Just as Blair meeting Burton is regarded as a turning point in the history of the Labour movement, so the removal of the prize-winning nettles is noted as a seminal moment because it is understood to be the inspiration for Mr Blairβs soundtrack to his great 1997 election victory: βStings can only get better.β
Weβve been digging out some pictures of John Burton from the Echo archive as a little Memories tributeβ¦
