COMMON sense has prevailed.

The two councillors who spoke out against controversial moves to hold Town Hall meetings in secret and as a result were suspended from Blackburn with Darwen Council's ruling Labour group have been reinstated.

Councillor Peter Greenwood, a former group leader and mayor, and Councillor Don Rishton had the courage to vote against the plan last March.

What they were objecting to was a move to hold meetings in private under a new cabinet-style system which replaced the old committee structure.

And, as this newspaper said at the time, they were absolutely right.

Our campaign for meetings to be open, which included an article written by Peter Greenwood, quickly received the enthusiastic support of the citizens of Blackburn with Darwen. The post bag for our Opinion page was the heaviest in years as scores of people, many of whom had never written to a newspaper before, rushed to support the call for a continuation of democracy in local government. The result was victory for people power.

Council leaders staged a u-turn and now admit members of the press and public to meetings.

Meanwhile, Peter Greenwood and Don Rishton suffered the indignity of being banned from party meetings.

It was a ludicrous situation and one which gained their party no popularity points.

It came as no surprise when their appeals against suspension were upheld by the North West Regional Labour Party.

Defying the whip, even at local level, takes courage. Both councillors are high-profile figures and had a lot to lose.

But their action was right and, what is more, the people who vote councillors into office were quick to realise they were right. They were convinced that democracy at local government level was about to be dealt a severe blow and they were not prepared to accept it.

We salute the courage and determination of Peter Greenwood and Don Rishton and all those who backed them.