THE man in the white suit has returned to Knutsford and described serving as the town’s MP as ‘the best time of his life’.
Broadcaster Martin Bell, 83, was guest of honour at a new exhibition at Knutsford Heritage Centre, commemorating the infamous ‘Battle on the Heath’.
Dressed in his trademark white suit and sporting his original ‘Martin Bell For You’ rosette, he unveiled the memorable time when he made national news.
The exhibition tells the story, for the first time, of the 24 days leading up to the 1997 General Election after Martin announced he was standing as an Independent candidate in Tatton.
Better known as the BBC’s foreign affairs correspondent, covering wars and conflicts around the world, he quit the BBC to stand for election amid sleaze allegations against sitting Tory MP Neil Hamilton.
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This culminated in what became known as the ‘Battle on the Heath’, referring to Hamilton hijacking a press conference Martin had called on Knutsford Heath.
TV crews from all over the country flocked to Knutsford to capture the unfolding drama.
Bell said: “I had completely forgotten it was 25 years ago. Time flies.”
Whilst rummaging around at home for his white suit, he found his campaign diary, which he has loaned for the display.
Heritage Centre manager Val Bryant said: “We had initially joked that wouldn’t it be great if Martin Bell himself would come along to open the exhibition but we were happy to settle for displaying his white suit on a mannequin.
“But then we found out we had actually managed to get the man in the white suit himself. We are really delighted that he joined us.”
Recalling his days as an MP, Martin said “It was actually the best time of my life.
“I did the full four years but I was the only member who was reproached for keeping a promise”.
Martin revealed he came under a lot of pressure to stand again.
One of his most unusual memories was of a woman dressed as Mrs Gaskell who shook his hand while still wearing her gloves and then proceeded to take off the gloves and one of her hands as well, which was false.
Cllr Mike Houghton thanked Martin for returning to Knutsford and said he had left a legacy which had encouraged people to step forward simply because they have a wish to improve the community without any sense of political agenda.
The town's new mayor said: “The history of Knutsford is not just what happened in the war or 100 or 500 years ago.
“We are looking at these events of 25 years ago and it still resonates with a large number of people in Knutsford today.”
As well as the untold story of what happened behind the scenes, there are also documents, letters, political cartoons and books on display.
The exhibition runs until August 2022 and admission is free.
After the event, Martin Bell sat outside Cranford Café with his family, talking to passers-by.
Some remembered the events of 25 years ago, whilst others were asking who the man in the white suit was.
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