WHEN Ann Taylor was a pupil at Bolton School, she was a very determined young woman.

But little did her teachers know that the girl who grew up in Johnson Fold would become one of the country's youngest women MPs, a cabinet minister, and eventually Baroness Taylor of Bolton, sitting in the House of Lords.

Baroness Taylor, who now lives in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, entered the House of Commons as Labour MP for Bolton West in 1973, aged just 26. She represented the seat until 1983.

Four years later, she became MP for Dewsbury, serving until she stood down at the 2005 general election and was made a baroness.

On a recent trip back to trace her local roots, the baroness revealed how she chose Bolton as her title.

"At first I decided I wouldn't choose Bolton or Dewsbury as it wouldn't have been fair to either of them," she said. "I did contemplate Johnson Fold for a while as well, but the moment of the decision came at a Bolton Wanderers game.

"It was the last match of the season and we were playing Everton.

"One of my favourite players, Bruno N'Gotty, was sent off. I turned to my daughter and said: If we win today, I'm going to go for Bolton.' And we won.

"It makes sense, really. I was born in Bolton, my husband, David, is from Bolton and I went to school in Bolton." When she was elected to Westminster, Baroness Taylor was one of only 27 women MPs.

"It was very much a new world,"

she said. "I knew I had just as much right to be there as anyone else.

"Just because I was a woman and young didn't mean I couldn't stand up and say my piece.

"It's a bit different now because there are more than 100 women in the Commons. The novelty value that surrounded me isn't there in the same way."

Since her election, Baroness Taylor has held a number of senior positions in government and as a whip in the late 1970s, she ensured fellow MPs toed the party line under prime minister James Callaghan.

When Labour returned to government in 1997, she served as Leader of the House of Commons for a year. She later became Chief Whip and then chairman of the influential Intelligence and Security Committee.

In November last year, Baroness Taylor returned to a government role, this time as Minister for Defence Procurement.

Despite her workload, the motherof- two still finds time to visit Bolton regularly, to watch her beloved Wanderers.

She said: "Bolton Wanderers has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad used to take me when I was little. I was so young when I first went, I can't remember my first game."

She also uses the trips to visit her brother, who lives in Tonge Moor, and friends who still live in the area.