The West Country’s most enduring band, The Wurzels, paid a visit to the Palace of Westminster yesterday as part of a tour of the capital - on the back of a Massey Ferguson tractor.

The trio were in the city ahead of a performance at the O2 Islington Academy and to promote their first ever Christmas album since forming in 1965.

Their visit included a tour of Parliament, hosted by Liberal Democrat MPs David Heath (Somerton and Frome) and Tessa Munt (Wells).

David Heath said: “It was a pleasure to welcome The Wurzels to Westminster. The House of Commons cannot have too much West Country common sense as far as I am concerned. The Wurzels, of course, have it in spades.”

Tessa Munt added: “I certainly hope The Wurzels had an impact and that the Christmas tipple of choice around the bars of Westminster will be good Somerset cider.”

In addition to their tour of Parliament, The Wurzels also took in New Covent Garden Market for a performance, visited the rural affairs department Defra and met with Minister Jim Paice, and headed to Vauxhall City Farm to present it with a Christmas tree for the farm's Christmas party.

The Wurzels began with Adge Cutler in 1965 but only came to real fame when they parodied Melanie’s ‘Brand New Key’. ‘Combine Harvester’ shot straight to number 1 in 1977 followed by ‘I am A Cider Drinker’ which was a re-arranged cover of ‘Una Paloma Blanca’, thus showing a Wurzelised song is a hit song.

The Wurzels’ greatest hits album on EMI recently topped 80,000 sales and the predecessor to this album 2002’s 'Never Mind the Bullocks' is now a standard album in every party CD selection. In 2010 they released ‘A Load More Bullocks’, the second in the Bullocks' series and a prime example of the band’s ability to Wurzelise hits. The Wurzels continue to play over 100 shows a year to sell out crowds all over the country, with regular festival appearances at Bestival, Guilfest, Finsbury Park and Glastonbury.

The Wurzels are: Pete Budd, Tommy Banner, Sedge Moore & John Morgan.