LEIGH councillor Mark Hale has emerged as front runner in the race to find Labour's Parliamentary candidate for the next General Election.

The Hope Carr representative on Wigan Council has the full backing of the area's Labour clubs in the fight to become the next MP for Leigh.

Current Leigh MP Lawrence Cunliffe, in the House of Commons hot seat for the past 20 years, will not be seeking re-election.

And Cllr Hale has been nominated as the clubs' choice for the Labour Party's parliamentary selection process which takes place in January.

At a meeting of the Wigan Area of the National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs, Cllr Brian Baldwin, Wigan councillor and National President of the NULSC, stressed the need to support a local candidate.

Delegates supported his recommendation to back Cllr Hale giving their 100 per cent backing.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.