But in amongst all that, we had the bad news that the People’s Playground lottery bid for £25 million had been rejected. Labour didn’t even bother nominating us for UNESCO World Heritage Status after all the palaver. I keep saying it, but Labour has turned its back on Blackpool.

But why is anyone surprised? This is just the latest in a long line of examples of Labour rejecting Blackpool. I know the councillors went to see Margaret Hodge, the Tourism Minister, last week for an hour-long meeting. It would have taken an hour just to recite all the ways Labour have turned their back on this town.

When I first raised the issue of World Heritage status back in June, it was on the back of my discovery that neither the previous Labour Council nor the town’s Labour MPs had done anything to advance Blackpool’s cause. As the letter from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport stated: “There has been no written communication between this department and any organisation or individual in Blackpool regarding any potential application by Blackpool”.

It is a bit rich – and a bit late – for Joan Humble to suddenly take an interest after my action. Any MP worth their salt would have been promoting Blackpool’s bid long ago. It just shows that the bitter harvest of years of Labour misrule in this resort will have to be reaped for some time to come. Thank goodness Cllr Tony Williams is putting Blackpool’s heritage at the forefront of our regeneration at last. That step change in attitude is really welcome. Now all we need is for our MPs to be more proactive rather than just reactive when it’s too late. General Election anyone?