THE North gained a voice in the House of Lords yesterday when former MP Derek Foster took his seat as a Labour life peer.

The moment made history because it marked the first time Labour had drawn level with the Conservatives in its number of representatives in the upper house.

Lord Foster of Bishop Auckland - as he will be known - was watched by his family as he donned the famous red ermine and swore the oath of allegiance to the Queen.

A quick handshake with Lord Chancellor Charlie Falconer and he was ready to find a place on the red benches next to close ally Lord Sawyer of Darlington, who introduced him.

Lord Foster said: "I was keen to get the introduction over with so that I could start to get my feet under the table.

"The title of Bishop Auckland was a natural choice, because I represented the place for 26 years, and I hope it will give pleasure to people in the constituency."

Lord Foster has pledged to keep fighting to close the North-South divide, the reason why he went into politics in the first place, by boosting the region's economic development.

He has confessed to voting to scrap the Lords altogether, at a Labour conference in 1975, but reform of its membership has reached an impasse.

Many Labour MPs are still demanding an elected upper house, but Tony Blair has insisted agreement must be reached on its powers before a promised free vote.

Another former Bishop Auckland MP, the ex-Chancellor Hugh Dalton, was also given a peerage, but did not take the name of his constituency.