BEING called every name under the sun is water off a duck's back for Christine Hamilton but she is proud at being labelled "a battle axe".

Christine and her husband, ex-MP Neil, were guests of honour at the Ribble Valley Ladies Luncheon Club at the Stirk House Hotel in Gisburn yesterday.

And she told guests that "battle axe" was the best name she had been given.

Christine said: "If you're a man and you stand your ground then you're described as tough and strong, but if you're a woman you're bossy and demanding."

And she said the tag prompted her to write "The Bumper Book of British Battle Axes", which looks at strong women from Queens Victoria and Elizabeth I to Ann Widdecombe and Joan Collins.

At the lunch, Christine signed copies of her book which is raising money for the Cancer Research Fund.

"When we lost the election in Tatton in 1997, we went from being double income no children to no income no children," she said.

After a year which began with the couple losing a high-profile libel suit against Harrods boss Mohammed Al-Fayed over allegations in the Cash for Questions scandal, Christine has just finished a television show for BBC Choice in which she interviewed celebrities who have undergone tragedy and trauma.

"I feel that at 50 I have been given a totally new lease of life - a career break - and Neil and I are so glad to be out of politics. I have joined the 98% of the population who don't give a damn about what happens in Westminster, she said.