Keighley MP Ann Cryer has put pen to paper in praising the town's manufacturers and leading industrialists.

Mrs Cryer's personal view of industry in Keighley and the place of her birth - Lancashire - has been put together in a published article in last month's issue of The Journal, a quarterly business magazine for Leeds, Bradford, York and North Yorkshire chambers of commerce and industry.

In the double-page feature, Mrs Cryer focuses on the changing nature of industry during her lifetime and the knowledge she has gained through her contact with various industries as the town's MP. She also reflects on her family life.

Describing her childhood memories of "clogs on the cobbles' outside her home in Darwen, Lancashire, she says it reminded her of the industrial revolution.

After leaving school at 15, Mrs Cryer got her first job as a junior clerk and messenger with ICI Plastics Division, Britannia Mills.

It was here she first recognised the importance of industrial relations.

Mrs Cryer says: "I was asked to do the article and told to make it relevant to industry.

"A lot of other MPs have also written about industry in their areas, so I thought I would be different and relate it to my own life and relationships with various industries.

"Much of the piece is interesting for anyone because it's about my life and not a lot of people know what I've done and I hope it will enlighten them a little."

She depicts Keighley as having a "very rich industrial history' and goes on to say how Iain Copping, director of Keighley Business Forum, invited her to become an associate member.

She applauds the work of the Forum as well as that of O & K Escalators, famous for their well-designed products.

In the article, Mrs Cryer says: "I actually believe that the success of British manufacturing industry is essential if we as a government are to achieve the many things that so many people inside and outside of the Labour Party desire."

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