RETIRING Blackburn MP Jack Straw used his farewell speech at Westminster to pay tribute to the two places he loved most – the town and the House of Commons.

The former 68-year-old Labour cabinet minister was given the chance to wind up his career in the final debate before parliament is dissolved on Monday for the May 7 general election.

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He told MPs: “It has been my privilege to have served as the member for Blackburn for the past 36 years.

“Blackburn is a singular town in many ways, one of which is it has had only two MPs, Barbara Castle and me, in the 70 years since the war.

“I learnt a great deal from Barbara, not least that the first and most fundamental responsibility of any MP is to his or her constituents, however high and mighty that MP thinks they are.

“It is our constituents who are, as it were, our employers and grant us the extraordinary privilege of serving in this place.

“The average length of service for a member of parliament is 11 years, and I have been incredibly lucky to have served my constituents for three times that.

“For a big village, as we often describe ourselves, my town has had to change more than most others as it has absorbed a large Asian-heritage population, but it has done so with a generosity of spirit.

“Deciding to leave was incredibly difficult.

“I love my constituency and I love this place.

“I thank my constituents for the privilege it has been to serve them.

“This is a wondrous place.

“ I felt that in May 1979 when I first arrived.

“I feel it still now, as I leave.”