JACK Straw admitted feeling odd yesterday when we woke up for the first time in more than 36 years as neither the MP nor Labour candidate for Blackburn.

Having cleared his House of Commons office for the last time, he said the sense of loss will not hit him until after the election.

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At one minute past midnight yesterday, when parliament was dissolved prior to the election race, the 68-year-old ceased hold the job that had been his since being voted in on May 3, 1979.

Being MP for Blackburn was the bedrock of a political career including holding four cabinet posts — Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Chancellor.

Mr Straw said: “When I woke up yesterday I felt a bit odd. When my wife Alice and I had our cup of tea in bed I remarked on how odd it all seemed. It has has not hit me yet.

"That will happen after election day. Until then I shall campaign across the region for Labour, in particular for Kate Hollern in Blackburn and my son Will in Rossendale and Darwen.

“I shall miss the House of Commons, the best debating chamber in the world. I will miss being MP for Blackburn, the basis of my career. I could not have been a cabinet minister without the town. It informed everything I did in cabinet, like antisocial behaviour orders based on the activities of one particular family in Blackburn and their impact on their neighbours.”

He is clear about his best moments — Blackburn with Darwen becoming a unitary authority and Blackburn Rovers winning the Premiership.

On the downside, he recalls Labour’s 1983 election trouncing, as Home Secretary being savaged in the Commons by his Tory shadow Michael Howard over prison, and his recent appearance on Channel 4 over cash for access.

Mr Straw is happy his connection with his adopted home town will continue. He said: “I am still going to be connected with Blackburn as chairman of the youth zone and a governor of the college. And there is no way I am giving up my Ewood Park season ticket.”