BURNLEY MP Peter Pike will soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his active involvement in elected political life.

He was first elected to Burnley Council in the Coal Clough ward in 1976 with councillors Bert Carroll and Peter Swainston.

He said: "it was an election for the full council and I was agent for all 54 Labour candidates.

"Burnley was the only council in Lancashire to remain Labour that year."

He recalled: "As a council we were very concerned in those days with providing enough homes and the Griffin estate was the last council estate to be built following Clifton Farm."

Mr Pike added: "In Coal Clough the major problem was the need to invest in mordernising the older council houses on the three main estates, Stoops, Hargher Clough and Bleak House."

Mr Pike said that as a councillor he always felt that it was the issues he took up for individuals which were the most important.

"I have always believed that councillors are ideally placed to help someone solve their problems.

"When I look back the major contribution I feel I made to improving the quality of life for the residents in Coal Clough was, in the end, allowing part of Bleak House to be sold as the council was unable to do the work," he said, adding: "A break with my ideals but clearly the best for the area.

"My other major project on the council was supporting the return of the Mechanics to public use and the major refurbishment necessary to allow a derelict building to become as asset to the town."

Mr Pike, who had first acted as party agent in 1963, had a meteoric rise to the top of local political life becoming Labour group secretary on the first day of becoming a council member.

He took over as leader when Coun John Entwistle lost his seat over the dog ban in the parks controversy.

During his time on Burnley Council he was chairman of the performance review committee in 1976, finance committee in 1977 until becoming leader and taking over the chairmanship of the policy and resources committee in 1980.

He became the town's MP in 1983 and has been re-elected at each poll since then.