That this House is appalled by the Hugh Barnes article in The Observer Magazine on 7th November which described Waterfoot, in the constituency of Rossendale and Darwen, as 'a ramshackle town of wholly contemporary squalor', the much-loved Railway public house as 'out of date and drab' and referred to the 'easily identifiable banality of the Edgeside estate'; considers the article to be an insult to the people of Waterfoot, the patrons of the Railway public house, the residents of the Edgeside estate and the honourable Member for Rossendale and Darwen and the Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives, whose offices are situated in Waterfoot, not to mention the relatives and friends of Reg Woof, on whose tragic murder the article was based; confirms that should Mr Barnes ever seek to visit Waterfoot again, he will be singularly unwelcome; and calls upon the Editor of The Observer to publicly disassociate himself from Mr Barnes' remarks forthwith.

That this House is appalled by the Hugh Barnes article in The Observer Magazine on 7th November which described Waterfoot, in the constituency of Rossendale and Darwen, as 'a ramshackle town of wholly contemporary squalor', the much-loved Railway public house as 'out of date and drab' and referred to the...