LABOUR MP Ivan Lewis will be going for a a hat-trick of victories at the next General Election.

He has been unanimously re-adopted by constituency members to defend the Bury South seat he won in 1997 and retained four years later.

Mr Lewis (36) says he remains immensely proud to represent his hometown constituency in Westminster: he still lives in Prestwich with his wife Juliette and sons Ben and Harry.

He opened the first full-time MP's office in the constituency (which takes in Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich) offering an advice and advocacy service. He said he would continue to honour the commitments he made to local people prior to election, and remains passionately committed to community politics.

Mr Lewis is a junior education minister, responsible for skills and vocational education. "This is particularly satisfying, as I represent a constituency with schools, colleges and a local education authority consistently among the best in the country," he said.