HOW and why people are selected for recognition in the honours system remains shrouded in much mystery. But it's no secret that fewer medals are awarded to folk up here.

Campaigning for a better deal for East Lancashire people, Hyndburn MP Greg Pope points out that while hundreds of London-based civil servants have got 'gongs' in recent years just eight public servants from our region received honours last year.

Fair? Of course it's not. But it is symptomatic of how the provinces remain the country's poor relations while so much influence and government business is retained in the South East.

Mr Pope puts the odds on anyone from East Lancashire being honoured as high as one in a million. And, he says, if someone from our region is recognised, it is only with one of the lesser awards.

Why so? We have lots of hard-working folk doing great work in all sorts of fields -- as our own Pride of East Lancashire awards are proving. It is not just a mystery, but also frustrating that official recognition for them is so thin.

Even the late Jack Walker got nothing -- and he was a man who ploughed a fortune back into the town where he made his millions and arguably did more than anyone to gain recognition for East Lancashire.

As Mr Pope rightly says, it's time the eccentric and discriminatory system was radically reformed.