I hear on the political grapevine that things are hotting up nicely in the race to succeed Alan Milburn as Darlington's parliamentary Labour candidate.

Keep a close eye on a chap called Roger Baker, who is the Labour Party's Head of Press and was born in Melsonby, not far from Darlington.

He's apparently letting it be known in all the right circles that he fancies the job.

There's remarkably little information about him on the Internet but we'll be trying to get in touch with him during the course of the day to see what - if anything - he has to say.

On the business networking site, LinkedIn, his interests include "career opportunities".

Also, don't be surprised if Darlington born and bred councillor Jenny Chapman confirms that she's running as the home-grown candidate shortly. I hear she's made her mind up to give it a go.

Another Darlington councillor, Nick Wallis, has announced that he will definitely not stand.

Wouldn't it be great if the people of Darlington had the chance to vote for their candidates, like an American primary?