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Hezza recalls his 'ugly, lovely' hometown

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Lord Heseltine
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"If you want to bring tears to my eyes you play 'We'll Keep A Welcome In The Hillside'' - Lord Heseltine

Former deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine says he still gets tearful when he hears music that reminds him of his Welsh roots.

The Swansea-born Conservative grandee says he considers himself British rather than Welsh or European but recalls South Wales as his home.

In a ´óÏó´«Ã½ Parliament interview, Lord Heseltine, now 84, reflects on his upbringing and political career.

Asked whether he considers himself Welsh, English or British, he says: "I'm British, but my grandmother was French. If you say, 'where was your home?' South Wales."

'Hillside'

Michael Heseltine was born in South Wales but educated in Shrewsbury and Oxford. He stood unsuccessfully in the 1959 Gower by-election but later became an MP for a Devon seat and later Henley in Oxfordshire.

He told presenter Sean Curran: "If you want to bring tears to my eyes, you play 'We'll Keep A Welcome In The Hillside'. I can lie back and listen to Dylan Thomas and laugh with him. My mother lived opposite Dylan Thomas in Swansea."

The programme is worth watching to hear the peer's take on notable political events in his career - his work in Liverpool after the 1981 riots, his resignation over the Westland affair and his challenge to Margaret Thatcher's leadership.

It is not the first time that Lord Heseltine has got nostalgic about his upbringing. Having finished a Radio Wales interview last year, he left our makeshift studio with a cheery "Cymru am byth!"

The programme, 'Conversations', is available now on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer and broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Parliament on Sunday, January 14.