Open House, with BILL JACOBS

FORMER Blackburn MP Barbara Castle's legacy lives on, rising government star Hazel Blears has revealed.

She helped the late baroness when she was a Euro MP for the North West in the 1980s.

She used to drive her around and says that Barbara was her political heroine -- but as the Salford MP is small, red-haired and strong minded that is perhaps no surprise.

Miss Blears revealed that although they were late for every meeting, Baroness Castle would insist on spending ages touching up her make-up.

The Home Office Minister said: "She said to me 'Hazel, I'll give you one piece of advice which will serve you well whatever you do -- its never too late to put on lipstick.'

ROSSENDALE MP Janet Anderson and her long-term partner and fellow Labour MP Jim Dowd are planning to get married.

Wedding bells certainly seem to be in the air after six years together following the break-up of her union with lawyer Vince Humphreys, who was at her side when she took the seat from Sir David Trippier in 1992.

She told me: "We've been thinking about getting married for a long time but we'll do it where and when we want to in a low-key way.

Mrs Anderson is famous at Westminster, for saying, when in opposition: "Women will have more sex under Labour."

BLACKBURN MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw recently addressed a luncheon of the Press Gallery at the House of Commons.

I took the opportunity to ask him whether in a few years time, after Tony Blair had quit, the Blackburn MP would prefer to serve as Chancellor in a Gordon Brown government or appoint Mr Brown as his Foreign Secretary on his first day as Prime Minister.

Mr Straw tried to duck the question by expressing his admiration for me and the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

However when I asked if he expressed that admiration by answering the question, he simply replied: "No I won't."