DAVID Chaytor has been a prominent feature on Bury’s political landscape for the past 13 years.

Born and bred in Bury, the 60-year-old went on to serve the town in 1997 by achieving the highest ever General Election majority in the history of the Bury North seat.

He overturned a 4,704 Conservative majority to capture the constituency by a margin of 7,866 votes.

Mr Chaytor went on to successfully defend the seat, the last time in 2005 when he clinched a third term with a 2,926 majority.

Married with three children, he was educated at Bury’s East Ward Primary School, Bury Grammar School and the University of London. He cut his political teeth as a councillor at Calderdale. Prior to becoming an MP, he was the head of continuing education at Manchester College of Arts and Technology.

His forte in politics embraced the environment, transport, education and foreign affairs. He also served on two Parliamentary Select Committees — the Children, Schools and Families Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee.

He is a founder member of Bury FC supporters’ trust Forever Bury, an honorary member of Bury Rotary Club and president of both Brooksbottom Cricket Club and Bury Horticultural Society. He also has links to numerous other local groups.

In his early Parliamentary years, Mr Chaytor was his own man and unafraid of going against the party line. In 2003, he declared that “we have no political, moral or military reason” to attack Iraq.

Nearer home, he has been a keen supporter of the Metrolink expansion and an outspoken critic of proposals to cut services at Fairfield Hospital.Additionally, he actively supported the ban on hunting but failed to win sufficient support in the House of Commons for an outright ban on child-smacking.

He has also called for grammar Schools to be abolished, but courted controversy when he supported the Government’s Education Bill which planned to introduce independent state Schools.

In 2005 and 2006, Mr Chaytor defended his Parliamentary expenses, saying they were required to allow him to do his duty.

He told the Bury Times: “It works out at around £2 per constituent. If anyone thinks I’m not worth it, they can write to me and I will consider giving them their £2 back.”

Two years ago, he became one of a select group of MPs chosen to scrutinise the Government’s new climate change law.

In 2009, he supported a battle for financial compensation waged by 100 angry workers left out of pocket by the collapse of Bury-based Global Telecoms and Technology. Mr Chaytor labelled the lengthy wait for payments as “completely unacceptable”.