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The Labour selection in Wansbeck sounds like it could be from a different era.

.

Of course the North East has a long history of selecting miners as parliamentary candidates, but given the industry has ceased to exist in the region, it does now seem more unusual.

And some have already picked up on that.

Even before he got the candidature .

in a recent article.

It then trotted out some historic quotes from him, although there didn't seem to be anything he'd said recently.

But his selection has also been seized upon by one of his rivals.

The Lib Dem fighting the Wansbeck seat - - clearly had his news release ready to roll as it hit my inbox moments after Labour's selection announcement.

He calls it a "backward step" for the Labour party, and accuses them of being in "a time warp."

Of course Labour also point out other parts of his background - his positions as Chair of Ashington Football Club for instance.

But they also insist his background makes him ideal for the constituency.

It'll be up to the Wansbeck voters to decide whose view they share. The Conservative candidate is .

The news came as I returned from London after talking to three of our retiring MPs.

It may be the last bow - as MPs anyway - on our programme for Chris Mullin (Labour, Sunderland South), Peter Atkinson (Conservative, Hexham) and Phil Willis (Lib Dem, Harrogate).

I asked them about what they viewed as their achievements, their regrets, and their advice for the succeeding generation of politicians.

Independence of mind featured strongly in that advice - even if it was in defiance of the party whips.

Easier to say when you're at the end of your career perhaps than at the beginning.

But I also talked to them about the reputation of MPs post-expenses.

It's too late for them to play much of a part in rebuilding trust in our politicians, but I'll be talking to three aspiring MPs on the this Sunday to see how they might tackle the problem.

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