So Jackie, you're back from Jordan. What was it like? It was a great trip. We were meeting with

representatives of some of the newly formed local councils. I'll tell you what, there is

similarity between local councillors across the world, I think. But they were a really great

quality. No, actually, I tell you what, in Georg. But they were a really great... Well, they're not very good quality.

No, actually, I tell you what, in Georgian, they are pretty good quality.

I met a fantastic woman who had been 30 years a midwife,

who had been elected as a counsellor in her governorate,

and she reckoned that quite a few of the babies that she'd helped to deliver had voted for her.

And then there was everything from the sort of, you know, women like that who were totally

in their communities through to the slightly smoother young men who were clearly seeing

this as a way to become MPs eventually. And nothing wrong with that, speaking of somebody

who was a councillor before I was an MP.

I've never been a counsellor, although I did stand for a counsellor a couple of times when I was at

university just as a, well, more or less a paper candidate. I remember the day before my finals,

I was taking three old ladies to the polls and I was about to turn right into the polling station

and a motorcycle decided at that moment

to overtake me and so just as I turned right he hit the right hand side wheel and went straight

over the bonnet and so I ended up directing the traffic in my blue rosette and I never did find

out what happened to the old ladies they obviously got out of the car

and went to vote and walked home what you just deserted the old ladies well they just

I was actually trying to care for the guy that had gone over my body but it has to say I mean it

was entirely his fault I found out later where he lived so I went round to his house to see his parents,

...