Was fortunate to be asked to dinner with Michael Heseltine, who was in the North East for just two days. Also present at the dinner near Stannington was Deputy Mayor of North Tyneside, Judith Wallace, and her husband. Very interesting to hear of the first five months since we won the North Tynside Mayoralty.
But most interesting was Mr Heseltine. After dinner we sat and talked for an hour. What he does not know about government is frankly not worth knowing. On local government he is a big fan of directly elected mayors and unitary authorities.
On a national issue I asked him how long the honeymoon would last if we won the election. His reply - "one day!"
