Pendle is my home.  It is a great place to live and it is a huge privilege to represent its people in Parliament.  I feel this as strongly now as I did way back in 1992 when I was first elected.

I grew up and went to school in Edinburgh and then on to the University of Glasgow, where I became steeped in student politics.  I moved to London and got involved in local campaigning, becoming Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council.   I was on the board of Fulham Football Club at a time when voracious property developers were trying to get their hands on the prime riverside site.  Craven Cottage is still there!

I was hugely fortunate to be elected here in Pendle at my first attempt.  I found myself representing a beautiful constituency, yet so much of the surrounding countryside was out of bounds.  I resolved to do something about that.  My Right to Roam Bill, taken up by the Government, is now the law of the land.

In Parliament I am an active and enthusiastic member of the Public Administration Select Committee, which holds the Government to account on a range of issues.  I see myself as a bit of a free thinker and when the Government gets things wrong – as sometimes happens – I speak out.