In America, it's simple. Every president, however obscure, gets a memorial at their birthplace. Even President Ford, whose childhood home burned down in 1971 and who wasn't even elected, is remembered with a plaque and a rose garden on the site in Omaha, Nebraska.
In Britain, we like to forget. There isn't a giant handbag in Grantham, where Margaret Thatcher grew up, and Clement Attlee's childhood home, now on sale, is being marketed for its 43-acre garden, ruched pink curtains and six stables rather than its links to Labour history.
Comarques — the name of the home where Attlee romped before his experiences in the East End made him a socialist — is a grand sort of place, of the kind where, prior to the expenses scandal, MPs imagined themselves living. There's no moat, but a big pond, just right for a duckhouse, though at £2.5m Tony Blair is probably the only Labour politician who could afford it.
There are plenty of wealthy Tories, though, and if one isn't tempted by the Attlee home they might consider Spencers, the £5m home of Rab Butler, who never quite made it to No 10 (also valued at £5m by estate agents Findaproperty.com). The Georgian mansion at Great Yeldham in Essex is now open to offers.
So, soon, will be Ted Heath's old house in Salisbury: he wanted to leave it open for visitors, but the charity responsible can't keep up with the costs. It is due to close at the end of this summer. Perhaps the city's newly-elected MP, John Glen, might try slipping it through on expenses.
