FORMER South Ribble MP Sir Robert Atkins has returned from the political wilderness to take up a seat in the European Parliament, two years after crashing out of the House of Commons.

Sir Robert, who was ousted from his 'safe' South Ribble seat in the 1997 General Election by former Preston Council leader David Borrow, was one of three ex-Conservative MPs to sweep back into power, along with Chorley's Den Dover and Lord Inglewood of North Lancashire.

Under the complex new D'Hondt voting system, voters selected a party to back rather than an individual and the number of seats each party wins depend on how many votes they get. Of the 10 North West seats available, five went to the Conservatives, four to Labour and one to the Liberal Democrats.

But while the new Proportional Representation system was Sir Robert's ticket back into high-ranking politics - he was in the top four of the Conservatives Top Ten list - the Garstang man was critical of the new voting structure.

He said: "In my mind, it is a daft system and I am opposed to it. The traditional 'first past the post' system is best and hopefully the apathy shown by the voters will prove to the likes of Mr Blair and the Liberals that it is not the way forward.

"It is foolish to break the link between the voter and the constituency representative."

The Conservatives won 6,370 votes in South Ribble, and also took a large share in Preston - which had the lowest turnout in the North West - collecting 3,608 crosses during last week's vote. But despite his dislike for the voting system, Sir Robert said he is delighted to be back in politics. He added: "Of course, I am very chuffed. It is nice to back in politics after two years out.

"I think the low turn-out helped because the people voting Conservative were determined to come out and vote. Our stance struck a chord with voters. They don't want an extension of power or a single currency.

"Now I intend to use my 18 years of political experience to the best of my ability in Europe scrutinising the actions of both the commission and the ministers."

Sir Robert will now attend monthly parliament meetings in Strasbourg and he will probably be elected to certain committees, which meet in Brussels.

He replaces Mark Hendrick, former MEP for Lancashire Central (including Preston) who lost his seat after being placed just sixth in Labour's top ten list.

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