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For someone who first stood for office as a joke - and as a monkey - Hartlepool's mayor has come a long way.

Those from outside the North East may only remember .

At the time Stuart's claim to fame was as the local football club mascot, H'angus the Monkey.

So cue lots of campaigning in his monkey suit and a pledge to give free bananas to the town's schoolchildren.

To his own astonishment though the joke gained momentum, .

For many, including the local Labour MP of the time, a certain Mr Mandelson, this was crass and unbelievable.

But Stuart Drummond realised that having been elected, he'd better actually have a stab at doing the job.

, as he got his teeth into the task.

And looking at the results, his efforts have borne fruit of a a different kind

- the highest possible rating. In addition it was found to be improving strongly.

Local people also seem to have appreciated what he's done, as .

Now he's adding some global recognition to his local profile.

.

, and the only contender from the UK.

So a man who once dressed as a monkey is now competing against the Mayors of Brisbane, Dubai, Mumbai, Karachi, Mexico City, Oklahoma, Caracas, Hamburg and Lyon amongst others for the title of World Mayor 2010.

The voting's taking place at the moment , with the result announced in the autumn.

It's quite a story at a time when a lot of people are wondering how we can attract people from different backgrounds into politics.

I'm sure there'll be people who will quibble with his record, but he is as yet the only mayor in England to have been elected for three successive terms.

And in an era when most of the Labour leadership contestants are former Special Advisors and have nothing beyond politics in their CV, it's encouraging to see someone succeed from a completely different background.

As well as being H'angus, Stuart Drummond had worked in a call centre, and as a a cruise line waiter - something he credits with teaching him vital people skills.

I'm sure there are more ordinary people like him out there who, given a chance, could add a lot to public life.

The challenge for the political parties is to track them down so they don't have to stand purely as a joke.

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