D-day for the MP hopefuls

Tonight the race to find his Labour successor from an all-female short-list reaches its finale when Kitty Ussher, Debbie Brannan and Carole Galbraith will face the party faithful at a hustings meeting.

Reporter LAUREN CUMMING spoke to the three women about why they want the job and what their hopes are for Burnley. . .

CAROLE Galbraith is the only local woman to make it on to the short-list and she believes that her knowledge and understanding of Burnley and its aspirations will make her a strong parliamentary candidate.

She said: "I don't think people want someone who promises the earth, but someone who is proud to be from the town and will shout up for it.

"I think they also want someone who has a track record of putting some effort into Burnley to make it a better place for people to live and work."

Carole, who has been a borough councillor for Trinity ward in Burnley since 2000, said she has worked hard with local residents and community groups in Trinity to help improve what is one of the town's more deprived areas. But she believes it is important to have a long-term vision for the town.

She said: "A lot of Burnley's problems are ones that can only be solved in the long term - there are no quick fixes. We have got to make Burnley a sustainable economy.

"We need to attract high quality jobs but before we can do that we need to raise the educational achievements of our children and increase the skills levels of our workforce - this will not happen over night, we have got to take it step by step.

"I want to help build a thriving Burnley with people who are proud of its diverse community."

Carole has pledged to work hard to tackle Burnley's schools admissions problems.

She said: "Whilst I welcome the possibility of new schools for Burnley under the Building Schools for the Future programme, new buildings in themselves will not overcome Burnley's admissions problems.

"As MP I would engage with the Government and the county council to make sure that, whether or not whe get the new schools, Burnley has a school admissions procedure that is fair and meets the needs of local families."

Carole, 48, also hopes to become a champion for the people of Burnley. She said: "I believe that individuals sometimes need a champion. There are times when they come to their MP to help them fight their corner.

Carole Galbraith factfile:

Born in Clitheroe and moved to Burnley in 1976 with her husband Ian. She has two daughters, Fiona, 17, who is studying for A levels at Burnley College and Rosie, 14, who is at Habergham High School.

Before moving to Burnley she worked as a government civil servant in London. She worked for the Marsden Building Society in Burnley, where she became a union representative and negotiator.

Carole joined the Labour Party in 1979 and after two years became constituency secretary. She has also worked as an election agent, starting with the 1992 general election. In the local elections in 2000 she became the councillor for Trinity ward. She is currently the executive member for regeneration and housing.

Carole has been the parish clerk for Worsthorne Parish Council for 28 years.

DEBBIE Brannan, a union officer for engineering union Amicus, said she did not get where she is today by being a "shrinking violet" and intends to become a "strong voice" for Burnley.

The mother-of-three, from Southport, has been an active member of the Labour Party for 15 years and has been involved with the Trade Unions for 16 years.

She currently works for Amicus, represents Labour on the North West Regional Assembly and as a member of the party's Trade and Industry Policy Commission she helped to draft the Labour Party's manifesto for the 2001 general election.

Her work with Amicus and the party has meant she has had to work with politicians at a local, national and European level, and it is partly this experience that has encouraged her to put herself forward as a parliamentary candidate.

She said: "I think because I am so involved in politics at all levels I wanted to represent my region in government. I have played my role in deciding policy and now I want to be at the heart of making sure that those policies are put into action."

Debbie believes the next general election will provide some tough challenges.

She said: "If I was chosen as the parliamentary candidate I would be looking to change the perception of the Labour Party in the town.

"Two by-elections for seats on Burnley Council have recently gone to the Liberal Democrats so in the next general election I think we have got to treat Burnley as a marginal seat and I have got the experience of fighting for those."

Debbie, who helped co-ordinate those campaigns, said the important thing was that they managed to stop the BNP winning them.

She feels she has a lot to offer the town and is feeling positive about her chances of being selected.

She said: "I have been getting a very good response during my campaign. I think people see me as a fresh face to the town - someone who is local, but not too local."

Debbie Brannan factfile:

Debbie is married to Graham, who is a house husband, and has three children. Her family are originally from Bacup, but she currently lives in Southport.

A graduate of Manchester University, she has a degree in politics and industrial relations. She started her working life as a caterer for a local authority, which is where she became involved in Trade Union work with UNISON. Debbie currently works as a union officer for manufacturing union Amicus. She has been a member of the Labour Party for 14 years and is on the party's North West Regional Board, National Policy Forum and Trade and Industry Policy Commission.

Debbie represents the Labour Party on the North West Regional Assembly. An experienced campaigner, in 2001 she was the trade union co-ordinator for the North West Campaign team which helped keep the 17 marginal seats in the North West.

KITTY Ussher has been tipped as the favourite in the race to become Peter Pike's successor.

The 32-year-old moved to Burnley last year and at that time had not made a final decision on whether to stand or not but admits that during that time the town has "got under her skin".

She said: "The more you get into the community, the more you feel its beat, its pulse, and I realised I was happy being part of that community and that I had emotionally made the decision to put myself forward for the job."

Kitty said her time as a councillor in London inspired her to try to win a seat in parliament.

If she became the MP for Burnley Kitty said her main priorities would be jobs and housing.

She said: "We need to make sure we are bringing good jobs into Burnley. There are a lot of people in work, and people work hard here, but there are a lot of people in low wage jobs.

Kitty said work towards regenerating housing had already started with the Government-funded Elevate programme.

She said: "This will be a start, although I am not sure it will be enough. I see my role as banging on those doors to make sure the cash keeps coming until we have regenerated those communities.

"The challenge is to rebuild the housing stock while keeping the communities there vibrant."

County Coun Stephen Large said he got to know Kitty after she addressed a couple of meetings of the Burnley Labour Party at the beginning of last year.

He said: "I recognised then the special qualities that she has and have supported her since then.

"Although she is a young woman she has a maturity in politics that is beyond her years. Her work with Patricia Hewitt as a personal political advisor she has already walked the corridors of power and can already open doors."

Kitty Ussher factfile:

Kitty was born in England, lived in Ireland until she was seven then moved back to England with her mum and two sisters. She is married to Peter, 32, who is an accountant and works for WH Smith, and the couple currently divide their time between Burnley and London.

After studying economics and politics at Oxford University she went on to study at evening classes for a Masters degree in economics from Birkbeck College, in London. She worked for BP in Moscow, worked for Labour MPs in the run up to the 1997 general election and worked as an economist for a consultancy company.

Kitty currently works as a political advisor to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt. She joined the Labour Party in 1991 and represented Brixton on Lambeth Council, in London, for four years. She is a member of Amicus, GMB, the Socialist Environmental and Resources Association and Labour Women's Network.