There ought to be a new Westminster constituency named Roche Central, after the indefatigable former minister who is desperate to find another safe seat after allowing her 10,614 majority in Hornsey and Wood Green to melt away at the last election. It might be the only way to put her out of her exiled misery. The snow on the road to Wigan has been turned to mush under the heels of the all-women brigade of hopefuls and there in the shortlist is the ubiquitous Ms Roche, who valiantly persists in her pitches for some of the more solid seats either side of the Pennines, though on at least one occasion has bowed to regional officers’ advice that she should not waste her time. With the absence of any discernable interference from regional office, however, the eight-handed square off looks like it may be an unusually open contest, not least because early frontrunner and local council cabinet member Sue Loudon has seen her odds slip down the betting sheet as more is revealed about her heavy support for an unpopular new academy school.
