My fourth appearance at Derby was a delight. As usual there was a substantial audience (over 200), I had a thoughtful and astute interviewer in Professor Keith McLay and it was superbly organised (thank you Sian). But the icing on the cake was that two old friends were there, two people who came into Parliament with me in the landslide of 1997. Bob Laxton was the MP for Derby North and a CWU colleague – in the great days of the General Post Office, Bob climbed the telephone poles to enable your phone calls while I trudged the streets at dawn to deliver your post.

Bob stood down in 2010 and is a walking advertisement for an active retirement.

Claire Ward is still nowhere near retirement age. She was only 24 when she became the Baby of the House as the newly elected MP for Watford. Now she’s the Metro Mayor for the East Midlands and as seasoned, wise and judicious a politician as you’ll find anywhere in Britain. Harold Wilson would have been proud to have her representing his Labour Party.