GOOD news doesn't seem to come on consecutive days for East Lancashire and today perhaps proves the point.

Yesterday Blackburn with Darwen Council was justifiably proud to have been named "Council of the Year" by the independent Local Government Association out of a field of 250 local authorities.

Today we hear that the borough has failed, for the second time in two years, to be granted city status.

Last year we lost out with a bid for Millennium City Status in a contest won by Brighton and Hove, Wolverhampton and Inverness.

Today we learn that we have missed out again with the Queen's Jubilee award of city status.

Our local rivals for the accolade included Blackpool, Bolton, Stockport, Warrington and Wirral but, perhaps most galling, is the fact that the title went to our nearest competitor Preston.

Two years ago we could be seen to have had a political problem because MP Jack Straw as Home Secretary was the man responsible for the Millennium decision and comment would certainly have been made if he had awarded his constituency city status.

And since local politicians were bound to have had that in mind first time round it is worth asking whether a big enough effort was made with a Jubilee bid which did not face such a problem now our MP is Foreign Secretary. Did we merely dust down the old bid and post it again?

Perhaps the truth is that this time we were not sufficiently prepared because so many projects have yet to come to fruition.

And in two or three years time when the Capita contract pays dividends, Church Street is pedestrianised, the town centre has a new vitality and we have a thriving theatre and multiplex cinema the case for Blackburn with Darwen will be far stronger.