Voicesfrom Labour's Past by David Clark, £14.99

IN THIS fond evaluation of pioneering Labour figures who lived the north of England, Lord Clark of Windermere proudly reveals that his own long association with the party has lasted for more than 50 years - around half its existence.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, he met many of the early Labour stalwarts to record their oral histories during the party's fledgling years.

Two of the eight interviews revisited for this remarkable book were with Frank Parrott, of Kirkby Stephen, and William Watson from West Cumberland, both of whom lived into their nineties.

Parrott, who was headmaster of Kirkby Stephen Council School and later a Justice of the Peace, recalled the 1930s as the best years for the Labour Party in this part of Westmorland.

He was a rural district councillor and also served as an alderman on Westmorland County Council until local government reorganisation in 1974. He maintained a strong community involvement and was one of the first to campaign to save the Settle-Carlisle line when it was threatened with closure in 1983.

Lord Clark, who has spent 40 years in Parliament as a Labour MP and Peer, including a spell as a Cabinet Minister, is Visiting Professor of History and Politics at the University of Huddersfield.

ALLAN TUNNINGLEY