Local Information for Blackburn
Blackburn is a town in Lancashire, England (2001 census population 105,085: source ONS). It is the main part of the Blackburn with Darwen borough, which has a population of about 140,000. It was a key centre for the textile industry during industrial revolution and is popularly known as the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club.
Blackburn is known to fans of The Beatles as the town featured in the song "A Day in the Life". An article in the Daily Mail about a plan to fill potholes in the town caught John Lennon's eye as he was writing the song, giving birth to the lyric: "I read the news today. Oh, boy. 4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire". This lends itself to the title of the unofficial fanzine of Blackburn Rovers, which is called "4,000 Holes".
Blackburn is administered by Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority. Blackburn council and its successor have been controlled by the Labour Party since 1945. Blackburn sends one MP to Westminster, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. Previous MPs for Blackburn include former Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle, who represented the town in Westminster from 1945 to 1979. In 2005, allegations of vote-rigging and corruption began to grow around the Labour controlled council. A local councillor, Muhammed Hussain, was jailed for rigging an election by stealing postal vote ballots.
Straw was challenged in the 2005 general election by his former employee and British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray. Murray stood for election in the seat of Blackburn on a platform of opposition to the war in Iraq and electoral corruption. The anti-war vote was split, however, and Jack Straw was returned with a comfortable majority of over 8,000.
The Premier League football side Blackburn Rovers is based at the Ewood Park stadium. The club has done much to raise the profile of the town, winning the Premier League in 1995 and the League Cup in 2002. Blackburn Rovers also won the Worthington cup in 2001 |