HYNDBURN MP Greg Pope has stepped up his battle at Westminster for a fairer distribution of honours by calling on Downing Street to give honours to the winners of the Evening Telegraph's "Pride of East Lancashire'' awards.

The Hyndburn MP -- who is taking up the issue with Prime MInister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw -- has tabled a Commons motion on the issue.

The motion, on Parliament's daily agenda the Order Paper sent to all MPs. Ministers and senior civil servants, calls for more ordinary public sector workers such a doctors, nurses, and teachers to get MBEs, OBEs, CBEs, knighthoods and keerages rather than most going to diplomats and senior military officers in and around London.

Although the Early Day Motion is unlikely to be debated, it reinforces his message that the regions such as East Lancashire get too few honours while Whitehall Mandarins and Generals in the South East get too many.

It specifically asks the Downing Street Honours Unit to consider gongs for the Evening Telegraph's "Pride of East Lancashire" award winners. Last year just eight East Lancashire public servants got honours, but Mr Pope learned from Parliamentary Questions that since 1999 170 Foreign Office officials, 247 Ministry of Defence staff and 91 representatives from the Lord Chancellor's Department got gongs.

Labour backbencher Mr Pope said: "The Evening Telegraph is to be warmly congratulated on its 'Pride of East Lancashire' campaign.

"I just feel that it's a shame that local people who make such a massive contribution to public and voluntary services in Lancashire aren't getting the national recognition they deserve.

"Answers to Parliamentary Questions which tabled recently show that you are very likely to get an honour if you are a diplomat, senior military person or mandarin but very unlikey to get one if you are a teacher, nurse or voluntary worker in Lancashire.

"I have tabled a Commons motion calling for this imbalance to be redressed and suggesting that people nominated to the Evening Telegraph's 'Pride of East Lancashire' awards be considered for the next honours list.

"The system should be fair for all and far more local people deserve recognition."

Part of Mr Pope's Early Day Motion reads: ""I congratulate the Evening Telegraph on its 'Pride campaign."