[andrewb]

Originally Posted by Gayle

As does Greg. And as far as I know Ken was a hard working MP for his town. Like Greg, he was a local lad who wanted to represent his friends, neighbours, colleagues and the people of the town he came from. I'm not having a go at Greg or Ken on this so I'm not sure what your point is.

I'm having a go at MPs like Kitty Ussher from Burnley who was selected for Burnley without having ever lived in the town. She then rented a house up here for the campaign and then bought a house after being elected. She's a career MP and in my mind, that's not the right reason for being a candidate for a town - I think MPs should be local people for the local town.

I'm sure there are exceptions - Hazel Blears is obviously one of them. Even though she represents her own area of Salford.

I'm also sure there are other exceptions of people who have never visited a town before being elected who are doing a great job for that area now. You mention Arthur Davidson but lets face it, that was over 20 years ago - not exactly a current example!

I'm not sure he does live in Hyndburn does he? I always thought it was Blackburn. Very close anyway, I'm just being pedantic.