JUST SOME OF THE FORMER RESIDENTS OF CROSBY AND REGION

CHERIE BLAIR QC

Best known as the wife of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair whom she married in 1980, Cherie was brought up in Crosby and educated at St Edmund's Primary School, Oxfor Road, Waterloo and then at Seafield (now Sacred Heart High School).

Cherie has grown accustomed to being in the public eye as she has been in the limelight for much of her life.

The daughter of actor Tony Booth (the "Scouse Git" in "Til Death Us Do Part") she has achieved fame in her own right by winning the honour of British Lawyer of the Year 1997.

As well as supporting her husband and pursuing her own successful career, Cherie has become a fashion icon in the British media. The debate whether pink or lilac suits her best still rages in The Liver.

BARONESS SHIRLEY WILLIAMS OF CROSBY

Baroness Williams is one of the most famous British politicians of the late 20th century. Originally a Labour MP, she served as Minister for Education in the 1974-1979 Labour government. After the 1979 Labour election defeat the party's politics took a lurch to the left and Baroness Williams joined with David Owen, Bill Rogers and Roy Jenkins as the Gang of Four who left the Labour Party to form the SDP, a new centre left party, in 1980.

Baroness Williams fought the Crosby by-election following the death of Sir Graham Page, the Conservative MP for Crosby in 1981. She overturned a Conservative majority of over 19,000 to win the seat for the SDP, but after major boundary changes to the constituency was unable to hold the seat at the 1983 General Election.

Despite representing Crosby for only 18 months, when she was offered the title Baroness in the late 1980's she chose to incorporate Crosby into her title as she had enjoyed her time here so much.

After her election defeat the letters page of the Crosby Herald was full of tributes to her, claiming that she had done more for Crosby in 18 months than in 100 years of Tory MP's. Karol Wojtyla (see earlier) was alleged to have stated that despite strong lobbying from Crosby, Mrs Williams would NOT be made the first living saint for 500 years.