(60)Judy Mallaber, 52 (Amber Valley, 1997-) A member of Employment Sub-committee from 1997 to 2001, and remains a very loyal backbencher. Christine McCafferty, 58 (Calder Valley, 1997-) Member of Procedure Committee from 1997 to 1999 Now member of International Development Select Committee Loyal. Siobhain McDonagh, 44 (Mitcham and Morden, 1997-) Extremely loyal backbencher, sister of Margaret McDonagh, a former Labour general secretary. Anne McGuire, 54 (Stirling, 1997-) Appointed whip in 1998 and now minister in Constitutional Affairs Department. Jane Kennedy, 45 (Liverpool Wavertree, 1997-; previously Liverpool Broadgreen, 1992-1997) Blairite minister at the Northern Ireland Office.

Oona King, 36 (Bethnal Green and Bow, 1997-) Extremely loyal, voted for Iraq war Made PPS in 2002; Patricia Hewitt’s aide. Tess Kingham, 41 (Gloucester, 1997-2001) As a mother, was so disillusioned by Commons working hours that she resigned in 2001. Jackie Lawrence, 55 (Preseli Pembrokeshire, 1997-) Former council leader, appointed PPS in 2003 to Jacqui Smith, the equality minister. Helen Liddell, 53 (Airdrie and Shotts, 1997-; previously Monklands East, 1994-97) Former Secretary of State for Scotland, left the Government in the last reshuffle. Fiona MacTaggart, 50 (Slough, 1997-) The millionairess daughter of a business tycoon was appointed PPS straight away on her entry into the Commons and is now a junior Home Office minister.

Alice Mahon, 66 (Halifax, 1987-) Shop steward of Labour’s left. Ann Keen, 55 (Brentford and Isleworth, 1997-) Parliamentary aide to Gordon Brown. Ruth Kelly, 35 (Bolton West, 1992-) Appointed PPS in 1998 and rose rapidly through ranks to become Financial Secretary to the Treasury Found time in between to have four children. The Museum of London and the Barbican are just a stone’s throw away.
Stroll past the street’s eastern end and you barely notice the last building. Grey painted walls and frosted glass windows give way to an upper storey of glazed white brickwork. “Landlords are looking at rents of around 10 per cent less, but when they realise what they save on agents’ fees for finding a tenant and looking after the property, they more often than not come back to us.”In fact, Cathy Peacock and her team are now being approached by a growing number of investors who have spotted the advantages.

To that end, they set up Lettings First in partnership with Avenue Lettings, part of the Amicus, which has a great deal of experience in both social housing and private rentals.Since they began working together in November 2002 they seem to have brought about a minor miracle. Lettings First makes a pitch for their business by covering void periods and offering leases from between three to five years. This south London borough, it has to be said, is usually in the news for its political leanings and budgeting problems, yet it has come up with an innovative scheme to deal with homeless families that has admirers as far afield as Edinburgh. Something rather remarkable has been happening on the housing front in Lambeth. Her other key to success is having a trusted person greet all renters at the start of their stay: “This is vital as they can explain how everything works and iron out any potential problems. Otherwise the person renting your property will be stewing for a week.”Key questions to ask yourself before letting your house abroad * What are your financial objectives? * Do you want to maximise the income from your property or just cover costs? * How often do you want to be there yourself? * Do you want to be there on certain set dates, or can you be flexible and only go on weeks with no bookings?* Do you want to be there in the peak, summer holiday times when the rates are highest? * What type of person do you want to stay in your home? * Are you happy to have families with children and is your holiday home suitable for them?. As she puts it: “After all, it’s got to wash its own face.”Speller has years of experience in how to make your property abroad work for itself and the site includes a guide to different rental options and practical measures: “There are the obvious things like making sure that your furniture is appropriate for rentals, there’s no point having Chippendale chairs and then letting the place to people with children, and equally, white carpets are never a good idea.” Top tips include deciding on financial objectives for your property in advance as many other decisions depend upon them.