MICHAEL Johnson, kicked out of the For Darwen Party by the executive recently, may well hold the balance of power on Blackburn with Darwen Council after the May elections.

He'll be ploughing an independent, lone furrow.

It's likely to be some furrow. Perhaps more of a long, deep gouge.

I'd asked around before we met up. Opinionated. Loud. Likes a pint. So far so good.

Daft as a brush, rough diamond and quite a handful went into the melting pot.

But most folk agreed on one thing - his heart seems to be in the right place: Darwen, his home town.

In a few weeks he could be the most powerful councillor on BwD Council.

And none of the other political parties will like that one little bit.

"They might all be queueing up to kiss my backside," he told me.

He's seen a bit of life and spent some time in the French Foreign Legion.

He told me: "I've been called a racist. But I'm not.

"I fought alongside all colours and creeds in the Legion.

"We were all pals. But I am a Darwener first and an Englishman second."

Michael Johnson is keen on the idea of a Darwen "town council".

He said: "It's time our Darwen representatives realised that they are not politicians; they're councillors.

"And they're there to represent the wishes of local folk.

"They should get together and work for their town as a Darwen council group instead of playing at being tinpot Caesars."

Coun. Johnson reckons that the Darwen councillors should decide on strictly Darwen issues while the Blackburn reps sort out their area.

"What do I know about Bank Top?" he says. "And what do they know about Sunnyhurst Woods, for instance?"

Why did he get the boot from the FDP? "They've been saying that I've been getting the party a bad name, getting into fights and being barred from pubs.

"But I've never raised my hand to anyone and I've not been barred and I've not been arrested.

"Ok. We had a fund-raising casino evening recently and I had a bit too much to drink.

"I admit that.."

Wasn't there some spat with Labour councillor Dave Smith in the bottom George?

"Nothing more than a heated exchange," says Johnson.

"I did intervene there on another occasion when a woman was being verbally abused.

"Tales don't lose anything in the telling, but I was never given a chance to put my case to the executive.

"I'd have said: 'Where is your evidence?' They didn't have any."

The main reason, he says, was that some members of the party executive were jealous of him.

"I'd seen it coming since election night last year," he says.

Looking ahead to the elections, he can't see Dave Smith or Lib-Dems Karimeh Foster and Paul Browne losing their seats.

Moira Barrett (Labour) should hang on to Earcroft, but the key battleground will be Marsh House. "It looks wide open.

It could all get very interesting. For a change.