Last night, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the next door constituency of Burnley, Julie Cooper, comes to talk to the Barrowford Branch of the Pendle Labour Party.

The venue is the cosy and comfortable White Swan in Wheatley Lane Road, Fence, which supplies the pies and the mushy peas and the excellent ale.  We supply the atmosphere.  It is a lively and jolly affair.

I say a few words of introduction and hand over to Julie.

She immediately captures everyone’s attention.  She is open and smiling, authentic and energetic and has firm views on what needs to be done.  We are all agreed she is seriously impressive and will be needed in the new House of Commons.

So, what of the competition?

In Burnley, the Conservatives are nowhere.  No point wasting ink on them.

The Lib Dems’ standard bearer is the 67 year old Leader of Burnley Council, Gordon Birtwistle.  He is most famous for his candle light vigils outside Burnley General Hospital.

He is never happier than when there is some controversy about the NHS. His first reaction is to grab a candle.  His second is to get a petition going.  All sound and fury, signifying nothing.

He will be one of the oldest first time candidates standing for Parliament since 1992 (I haven’t checked before then.)

There is only a tiny handful of MPs who enter Parliament for the first time when they are over 60. Piara Khabra (Labour) was elected in 1992 age 67; Nigel Beard (Labour) 60 in 1997; Brian Cotter (Lib Dem) 60 in 1997; Dr Richard Taylor (Independent) 66 in 2001 and Brian Binley (Conservative) 63 in 2005. And that's it.

The fact that Birtwistle is 67 doesn't matter a jot to me.

But I am reminded of what happened in my Pendle constituency a few years ago.

The Liberal Democrats, led by the diminutive, bearded and sometimes malevolent David Whipp, fell out with, and then tormented, the principled and highly regarded clerk of Barnoldswick Town Council, Robert Kandt.

They forced him to retire, against his wishes, as soon as he reached 65.

Here is the Commons motion I tabled at the time.

MR ROBERT KANDT AND LIBERAL DEMOCRAT RETIREMENT POLICY

19.11.2007

That this House deeply regrets the forced retirement of Robert Kandt, the distinguished Clerk of Barnoldswick Town Council; notes his wish to carry on in post beyond his 65th birthday in the belief that he has much still to contribute; is appalled by the way in which the Liberal Democrat-controlled council has comprehensively ignored the Liberal Democrat Party's 2005 Manifesto for Older People which states `It is a gross indignity to subscribe to the notion that a person's contribution to society, and indeed the economy, stops when you reach 65'; further notes the manifesto goes on to assert that the Liberal Democrat Party will end the sudden cliff edge of retirement that forces people to stop working at a certain age, whether they want to or not, and will promote a flexible decade of retirement, where arbitrary retirement ages are scrapped and age discrimination legislation is enforced; and, in the light of this, believes that Barnoldswick Town Council should reconsider its earlier decision and re-instate Mr Kandt as its clerk.