THE gift of a board bearing the names of all the Members of Parliament who have represented Bromsgrove since 1832 has been presented to the town's Conservative party by the present MP Julie Kirkbride.

The oak board was commissioned by her as a Millennium gift to the party and it hangs in the Bromsgrove Conservative Association office in Worcester Road.

She formally handed it over to association chairman Peter Jarrett, from Lydiate Ash, who said: "I am delighted to receive this fantastic present from our fantastic MP."

Miss Kirkbride replied that it is interesting to note the well-known names of those who have represented Bromsgrove in the past, such as Sir Harry Vernon from Hanbury, Joseph Chamberlain and the Hon Charles Lyttleton.

From 1832 until 1859, when Bromsgrove formed part of the Worcestershire Eastern constituency, the town was sufficiently important to have two MPs at Westminster.