THE Lancashire Evening Telegraph carried two front page stories during the run up to the recent elections regarding the extension of the right for people to vote by post.

This has been well received by the overwhelming majority of folk who can now choose whether or not to vote by post.

The council took on a gargantuan task. This extended right was so popular that instead of the usual 2,000, some 15,000 of the electorate locally took it up -- older people, business and working people, those with disabilities, those with young families, for example.

Any change creates challenge. All processes that involve people have their problems.

The town hall staff and the postal workers involved worked very hard to implement the changes -- to err is to be human.

Locally, Labour saw things that need to be and will be improved. We shall make our experiences and recommendations known when and where it is appropriate to do so.

Perhaps the local Tories are making such a song and dance about this because they have no positive policies of their own to promote, they seek to undermine public servants at any and every opportunity, or they are just peeved that access to the right to vote has been extended to more people and that it is proving so popular with so many.

They protest too much, I think.

COUNCILLOR BILL TAYLOR, Labour election campaigns organiser.