A FORMER Labour party rebel and Euro MP has been selected to stand in the county council elections in Lancashire and has promised "traditional" Labour voters a "balanced ticket".

Michael Hindley, 53, stood down from his Lancashire South Euro seat covering Blackburn, Hyndburn and Rossendale in 1999 after 15 years as an outspoken member of the Labour left in Brussels.

But now the former local councillor and leader of Hyndburn Council from 1981-84 has been chosen to take over from the retiring County Coun Ian Ormerod in the Rishton, Clayton-le-Moors and Altham ward, but says he fears the election will "very negative".

Mr Hindley, of Great Harwood, who dismissed claims he had been forced to stand down from the European Parliament after a fall out with Labour party bosses, but admitted he had "always been a very sharp critic of New Labour", said he would provide a reason for core voters to come to the ballot box on May 3.

He said his break from being a member of the European Parliament had allowed him to "criticise what was going on because I had no axe to grind".

Mr Hindley said: "People will welcome the fact that Labour is a broader alliance than just New Labour and I think that will encourage the core Labour vote in East Lancashire which is recognised by the leadership of the party to be disillusioned."