ELECTED mayors, weekend polls, voting in supermarkets, more postal votes - but above all, giving power back to the people.

These are just some of the demands made by politicians on all sides after the worst ever turnout in local elections.

They hailed last Thursday's (May 7) dismal showing as a bleak day for democracy as barely more than a quarter of voters - some 26.85 per cent - bothered to exercise their democratic mandate.

Although the Tories made a mini-revival by taking two seats from Labour, there was no doubt that apathy was by far the biggest winner.

Council leader Derek Boden said the low turnout was very bad for democracy.

"It is important that people choose the right policies for the council by choosing their councillors. Most people think that it's not really important, but they are mistaken. We do need to convince them of this."

Coun Boden added: "Some think that once you elect a government in London all the work has been done and what happens after that is not important. It seems that our organisation has not been able to engage with people expected to support us."

Despite the gloom, the Tories celebrated a night when former Tory councillor Dorothy Gunther swept back into Ramsbottom, ousting Labour's Martina Longworth with a 266 majority.

And they also regained Church ward, a Tory stronghold until recently, with Jack Walton seeing off sitting councillor John Smith, chairman of housing on Bury Council, after a recount.

The line-up on Bury Council is now Labour 39 seats, the Conservatives six and the Liberal Democrats three.

Perhaps the most poignant moment of a frantic count at the Castle Leisure Centre was the election of Mrs Dorothy Cassidy.

She held onto Moorside for Labour, succeeding her husband Sean who died last year after a long fight against cancer.

Mrs Cassidy said: "I'm really proud to have won in the year that Sean would have been up for re-election. I wasn't ready to stand last year, it was only a month after Sean's death, but I'm definitely ready now and I'm going to enjoy it.

"He was on that soapbox with me. Never mind football - Cassidy's coming home!"

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