SOCIAL Security minister Alistair Darling this week gracefully drew back from comparing himself to former Blackburn MP Baroness Barbara Castle.

Speaking to Parliamentary journalists about the suggestion that only responsible citizens should be allowed to receive welfare benefits, he likened the initial controversy of this approach to battling Barbara's introduction of the breathalyser.

I asked him if he was motivated by the same determination to do what was right that was characteristic of Baroness Castle.

And Mr Darling said he would not dream of comparing himself to such an important politician, in terms of both the nation and the Labour party.

However, he went on to say that he did believe that he was now becoming accepted that claiming benefits with no regard to the effect of your behaviour on your neighbours and society was wrong, in the same way that Baroness Castle's introduction of the breathalyser had led to a firm belief that drinking and driving is crime.

Mr Darling's caution was well advised as the late Baroness Castle had strongly advocated bringing back the link between state pensions and earnings, rather than prices.

That is something that Mr Darling has played a leading role in opposing.

PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice has obviously spent too much time in front of the TV.

He has attacked the Church of England for its refusal to top up the pensions of women priests, who are unable to become bishops.

He said that the 110 (male) prelates will get pensions of between £15,000 and £17,000 a year -- the cash available to retiring Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey.

He told the House of Commons: "The maximum pension a priest can receive is just under £10,000 but what about the Vicar of Dibley? What about women of the cloth?"

RIBBLE Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans would be advised to give his assistance a geography course of education.

One of his aides was recently talking to a Welsh journalist down here and told him that he had a good story. But he added: "It is true that Conwy is in North Wales, isn't it?"

As Mr Evans is Shadow Welsh Secretary it would seem sensible to make sure that his team of young assistants have a better knowledge of what is where in the United Kingdom.

EAST Lancashire MPs Gordon Prentice and Greg Pope have clashed over claims that government Whips prevented their colleagues from voting for a major modernisation of the House of Commons.

Leader of the Commons, Robin Cook, was this week defeated in a bid to hand over control of the membership and chairmanship of Select Committees which keep an eye on the government's activities leading to claims by Pendle MP Mr Prentice that government Whips had torpedoed the move in revenge of his success in winning greater elected membership of the House of Lords.

But Mr Pope rejected this saying: "This is rubbish."

Oddly enough Mr Prentice has never made it beyond the back benches and Mr Pope spent several years as a Labour Whip.

BURNLEY MP Peter PIke displayed his characteristic skills of getting the local issue into debate at Westminster this week.

Everybody knows he is very upset at the election of British National Party councillors in his constituency, but colleagues were amazed when he managed to raise the issue at Foreign Office Questions in the House of Commons.