SO Hyndburn Council leader George Slynn says that his party's disastrous results in the local elections were because of conscious abstentions. Too right - it was.

Time after time, on the doorstep, voters who normally support Labour were telling our canvass teams throughout Hyndburn that they could not vote for us Tories, but neither could they vote for the party that controls the borough.

We knew days before polling that we would make significant gains because issues like car parking charges and the money-wasting Globe Centre were cropping up time after time.

For the first time in recent years, Labour in Hyndburn had to go to the electorate and stand on their own, with no protest against national government to hide behind. And they failed miserably, getting their just deserts.

The most pleasing thing for me last Thursday were the victories in Oswaldtwistle by Brian Walmsley and Doug and Sandra Hayes. For the latter pair it was sweet revenge for their defeat two years ago, which cruelly robbed them of becoming Mayor and Mayoress.

JOHN D FARRER, Mallard Place, Oswaldtwistle.

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