A CAMPAIGN to commemorate trailblazing former Blackburn MP Barbara Castle with a town centre statue will kick back into gear soon.

A special appeal was launched in March in the hopes of raising £50,000 to pay for the high-profile landmark paying tribute to her contribution to the town and the role of women in public life.

But council elections in May meant fundraising for the statue had to be paused before it could gather steam.

The former Labour cabinet minister was the Blackburn MP from 1945 to 1979, a life peer and a Euro MP in a long and celebrated political career.

Supporters, who want a lifelike statue located in a prominent position in the town centre, chose International Women’s Day for the appeal launch in memory of one of the 20th century’s most important female politicians.

The Barbara Castle Trust has already pledged £19,000 towards the statue but campaigners still need to raise another £50,000 to cover costs of producing and installing the piece.

It is the third attempt to mark Lady Castle’s legacy with a physical tribute after £19,000 was raised by the local Labour party in the 1980s for a community centre named after her and a failed bid for a statue in 2004.

Baroness Castle, who died aged 91 in 2002, held five high-profile government posts and as transport minister introduced the breathalyser, confirmed the 70mph maximum speed limit and legislated for seat belts on new cars.

Blackburn with Darwen Council member for Ewood, Cllr Maureen Bateson, said fundraising had to be put on hold due to local government elections earlier this month.

She added: “We are just having discussions and debate about how we go forward.

“We are having a look at some of the things we might want to do

“We have already had some ideas and hopefully we can move the campaign along soon.”

Part of the town’s orbital route and its Barbara Castle Way health centre are already named after her.

Blackburn has two town-centre statues of famous men, William Gladstone in Northgate and William Hornby outside the town hall, but only one woman – Queen Victoria in the Cathedral Square.

When Mrs Castle was born in 1910 women did not have the vote, yet by the end of the 1960s she was consider one of the four most powerful people in the country.