Politics is a big turn-off to most people

But with days to go until it gets under way, there does not appear to be any great enthusiasm to do so, even among the handful of politically-motivated people in Pendle.

And there is one simple reason for that – politics is a turn-off subject to the vast majority of local people.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson wants people to organise debates – but will anyone be bothered to do so, and how many people would attend anyway?

And despite Pendle Labour Party appealing to its members to attend the meeting which selected its candidate at the next General Election, Mr Pendle understands the majority stayed at home.

To assess the active interest in politics, one only has to look at the candidates standing at recent council elections.

The same old names, the same old faces – whether this is by accident, by design or because the parties have no other potential candidates to pick from, Mr Pendle does not know. But he suspects it is the latter.

To back that up, the local Conservatives recently called on would-be candidates to get in touch with them and put themselves forward.

He has not heard the results so far – but the silence suggests they must not have been the success hoped for.

As Mr Pendle says, most people are not interested in politics – and that is why he thinks Parliament Week will be a non-event in Pendle.