THIS morning I went to bed ashamed to live in Burnley. Admittedly Burnley has it's problems, but is it so bad that we can justify the BNP, a fundamentally racist party, becoming the official opposition party in the town.

I have lived in Briercliffe, one of the eight wards which has an elected BNP councillor, for almost 16 years. Both my children have grown up there and we have never felt deprived of anything. We have decent local services and decent public transport, a rural police constable and a police community support officer.

We live far enough out of the town centre not to be affected by it, but close enough for it to be accessible. We are lucky enough to live very close to some beautiful countryside.

We are the second least deprived ward in Burnley, the least deprived being Cliviger with Worsthorne, another ward where the people feel so deprived that they, too, have elected a BNP councillor.

What is happening to our town? Are we that bigoted, narrow-minded and selfish that we feel we need the BNP? Both Briercliffe and Worsthorne are relatively affluent, the total overall crime and nuisance lowest in Burnley.

Taking this into account, what is it exactly what we want? No-one denies that a large amount of money is injected into the worst areas of Burnley, these wards being some of the most deprived in the country, not because they are predominantly ethnic minority communities (despite what BNP propaganda would have us believe). In fact, some of them are almost totally white areas.

Would the comparatively wealthy people of Briercliffe and Cliviger with Worsthorne prefer to live in some of these areas, so they will get some cash, or would they prefer to remain in their pleasant streets and comfortable houses, living almost in total ignorance of the way some of the people of Burnley live?

I accept that it can be frustrating when you believe that money is always targeted to certain areas, but what we need to ask ourselves is why that money is put there.

The BNP often fight their cause using asylum seekers as fire power. We now have very few asylum seekers in the town, the BNP claiming the credit for it. That is not the case. It was not as a result of sensible political campaigning, but more because the political climate in the town has left us in a situation where it is felt that welcoming vulnerable groups would result in them being at risk of discrimination.

Is this really how Burnley wants to be seen by the rest of the country? We are discussed nationwide as racists and bigots.

How can the town ever expect the desperately needed investment from private business? Why should people looking to move to the North West ever want to move to a town that has a reputation for racist politics?

I find it disturbing that the voters, intelligent people, are so greatly influenced by the lies and half truths spread by the BNP.

The Labour council MUST perform to meet the needs of the people of Burnley. They need to look at everyone's needs and expectations. It must be made clear what it is being done, how and why. They need to look at where and how the money is spent and make sure that it is spread equally among the people who live in the deprived areas and not just a select few.

They need to take into account that in the deprived areas there are people who have lived there for decades, who have worked hard all their lives and feel that what was once a decent place to live is now nothing short of becoming a 'ghetto.' Yes, they do feel resentful and angry as it is possible that they believe that they are being ignored by the Labour council

Now is the time for some positive action by our council and for the BNP to put their money where their mouth is and perhaps people who feel the same way as I do may have cause to be pleasantly surprised.

Name and address supplied.