I WAS surprised to read the self-congratulatory letter (June 22) from Bury South MP Ivan Lewis, which not only sought to claim a Labour victory in the local elections, but was even cheeky enough to see the result as "a significant vindication" of the Labour government and the Labour council.

If Ivan Lewis genuinely believes this to be the case, and is not just indulging in Labour's notorious spin, then he needs to take care that he does not get out of touch with his electorate now that he is a Minister.

For the record, it is worth stating that despite all the sustained personal attacks mounted by Labour on several Conservative candidates in different wards, we managed to secure a clear victory on the popular vote.

In the Bury North constituency, Conservatives polled 16,526 votes to 12,685 for Labour -- hardly a ringing endorsement of Labour's policies and dirty tactics. Over the whole borough, Conservatives polled 26,321 (37 per cent) to Labour's 25,084 (35 per cent) -- again, a funny kind of Labour victory.

Our victory came despite the new ward boundaries put forward by Labour which were not meant to do Conservatives any favours. The moving of estates out of their natural townships and the splitting of communities were not accidental proposals. It was a "stitch-up"!

The all-postal ballot was another factor which Labour pushed through, despite the independent Electoral Commission's opposition, and I for one was not happy with the actions of some opponents which were reported.

We were also up against the council's propaganda machine with its banners, electronic notice boards and free newspaper, extolling the Labour leadership, which I maintain was still being distributed during the election period.

Despite all this we did well and, in order to hang onto marginal wards, Labour were forced to move into reverse gear and accept Conservative policies on weekly refuse collection, the safeguarding of the market and the private care homes for the elderly.

While writing, I would like to respond to a letter from an East ward Labour stalwart, Ian Hargreaves, who claims the Tories were once again rejected by the electorate, and remind him that more of the electorate voted for us than for his party.

Finally, could I say that your correspondent "Lionheart" is a coward. If he wants to keep attacking our councillors in such a personal manner, surely he should possess the moral fibre to use his real name.

Although the two councillors he refers to do live just outside the borough, they have an appropriate property stake in Bury which gives them a legal entitlement to stand for election. Their commitment to the town, in terms of attendance at meetings and sustained involvement in the community, is not being criticised and, moreover, they had both been given an endorsement by the electors more than once.

The hypocrisy of Labour amazes me because a few years ago Labour had a councillor who lived in Gateshead! He failed to attend anything for six months and so Labour organised an expensive special education committee for him to attend. It was over in 10 minutes and he then returned to Gateshead.

COUNCILLOR ROY-E. WALKER,

Conservative leader, Bury MBC.