Reading is the capital of the Thames Valley - a town with a proud history but which is a modern, economic, cultural and political success story.

Reading has been a settlement since Saxon times and Reading Abbey was founded in the 11th century at the confluence of the Holybrook and the river Kennet. When plague hit London, Parliament sat at Reading and the town played an important role in the English Civil War. Reading Gaol is another famous landmark and provided warmth and comfort to Oscar Wilde - who we are sure would have had firm views on the attitudes of today's Conservative Party.

The first Labour MP to be elected to represent Reading was Dr. Somerville Hastings in 1929. In 1945 the much loved Labour left winger Ian Mikardo won the seat for the first time and remained as the town's MP until 1959. Peter (now Sir Peter) Emery held Reading South until 1966 when the barrister John Lee won the seat back for Labour. The local authority was either under Conservative domination or no overall control for most of 40 years following the 2nd World War apart from two brief periods of Labour stewardship in the mid 1960s and from 1970 - 73. During this latter period bold plans were drawn up to build the famous Hexagon Theatre and to give the town's pensioners free bus passes. Both measures were opposed by the Conservatives.

The last two Conservative MPs for Reading were Sir Gerard Vaughan and Sir Anthony Durant who won their seats in 1970 and 1974 respectively. They were dubbed by the local press as "Reading's Silent Knights" in a moving testament to their inability to speak up for the town. In the 1980s Reading was ridiculed as being dull and uninteresting and pilloried in the national media as the most "average town in Britain". The one event that put Reading on the map was the arrival of the Reading Rock Festival - this was of course abolished by the Conservatives in 1984.

In 1986 things started to get better. The Labour Party took control of the Council and began to draw up ambitious plans to re-invigorate the town. The Rock Festival returned, the town centre was improved and pedestrianised, a huge expansion in leisure activities and facilities occurred; housing was renovated, a new football stadium created, the £250m Oracle shopping centre delivered and suddenly Reading became the place in which everyone wanted to live, work and play.

Labour delivered for the people of Reading and the people of Reading delivered for Labour - returning record numbers of councillors in every local election since 1983. And in 1997 the Tories were finally shown the door with the election of 36 Labour councillors and two Labour MPs - Martin Salter (Reading West) and Jane Griffiths (Reading East)