THERE are many things to be said about last Thursday's stunning victory for the Independents, the thrashing of Labour, the lamentable performance by the Conservatives and the long overdue and well deserved eviction of Stanley Henig. I shall try to say some of them but, first, it is time for congratulations and you, Sir, are high on the list of those to be congratulated.

We are in your debt for doing what journalists are supposed to do, but so rarely have the courage, and for doing it well; for standing firm in the face of disgraceful threats, pressure and obstruction from councillors and officers at the town hall; for digging out the facts the officials wanted to conceal; and above all for telling us the truth.

The public are not so stupid as these petty officials and politicians think. We know when we are being lied to; we recognise the truth when we hear it; we are not impressed by newspapers which knuckle under and obediently repeat the thoughts of political leaders. I salute Citizen Smith. Long may you defend the public.

Congratulations too, to Tricia Heath who led the Independents from the front and who won through despite a torrent of despicable lies and abuse from so-called Labour. And well done the Greens, who were able to show that, for all the so-called Labour group's hypocritical mouthings, Henig and his cronies didn't really care tuppence for the enviroment.

What a splendid day it was. A pity that nobody has overall control. The numbers suggest that the best solution for the best interests of the district could be a firm alliance between the Independents (23 seats and the largest party) and the Conservatives (9 seats), giving them a joint overall majority.

Before the Conservatives start playing coy and hard to get, as minority partners are prone to do, I would ask them to consider why their performance was so lacklustre in comparison with the rest of the country. Bear in mind that, but for a strong Conservative candidate in Silverdale, up against a thoroughly unpopular Lib Dem, the overall Conservative numbers in Morecambe and Lunesdale would have been down by two, whereas next door, in Wyre, the Conservatives regained control.

What happened? I think its perfectly clear what happened. The Conservatives paid the penalty for supporting Labour. They were told over and over again that when in opposition their duty was to oppose, but their last-minute efforts to do so were too little, too late. They had all the facts about Crinkley Bottom, for example, but they took the cowardly way, did nothing and allowed the Independents to make all the running and take all the flak. The Independents reaped the harvest, and the Conservatives are left clutching at straws. I hope the Conservatives will heed the warning that, unless they stop behaving like headless and gutless chickens they will remain marginalised and never recover power in this district. They must act as reliable allies in a concerted effort to repair the damage done by so-called Labour over the last several years and to bring any guilty parties to book.

And a final word to his friends on the subject of the departed Stan Henig. Spare us the crocodile tears, the testimonials and the eulogies. This man presided over one of the most wasteful and destructive periods in the history of Lancaster, with money thrown away, opportunities wasted, cock-ups covered up and so-called Labour saying or doing anything to stay in power.

Some of the damage will never be put right and we shall be paying the price of his mismanagement for many years to come. He has left a very hard task for the Independents.

Mike Ford

Silverdale

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.