EAST Lancashire Socialist sisters Kate Hollern and Julie Cooper have been given adjoining offices at Westminster as they start their House of Commons careers.

Both are delighted to have a friendly face next door as they try to find their way round the historic Houses of Parliament.

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Mrs Hollern, who succeeded veteran Jack Straw as Labour MP for Blackburn on May 7, said: “It will be nice to be able to pop next door and see Julie.”

Mrs Cooper, who won Burnley from LibDem Gordon Birtwistle at the general election, said: “It is good to know Kate, who I have worked with for years, is just in the adjoining office.”

The two former Labour Borough council leaders picked up the keys to their offices at One Parliament Street near the main Victorian complex, which have a connecting door, earlier this week.

Mrs Hollern, 58, said: “It’s a wonderful building but a bit of a maze.

“There is so much to do and so much to learn.

“You just realise there is so much history here.

“I am really enjoying it and my follow Labour MPs have been really helpful in showing where to go and the short cuts to get there.

“Having Julie, an old friend in the next door office is reassuring.

“I’m just starting to think about when to make my maiden speech and what to say.”

Mrs Cooper, aged 54, has already got her first address to the Commons under her belt, but confesses to still being a little lost.

She said: “It’s a fantastic place but very confusing. I’ve had be be helped when I got lost a few times.

“Arriving with Kate and having her next door is a real help.

“There ‘s someone I can go to and talk to, a familiar face.

“Going into the House of Lords for the Queen’s Speech was amazing, a wonderful experience.

“I just can’t believe I’m here.

“There are so many briefings from the party and the parliamentary authorities it’s a bit of a whirl of things to do.”