ON my recent return from the delights of Marbella, a colleague drew my attention to a confusion in your report (LET, November 30) of the Rosehill Ward by-election caused by my resignation from Burnley Council.

The report credits me with a majority of 473 in May 1999, but, in fact, I had 654 votes more than the best unsuccessful candidate in a two-seat contest.

On the face of it this would seem to make Labour's success in winning the seat an even greater triumph for the local party. The truth of the matter is that Labour's campaign was dominated by a major contribution in staffing resources by full-time employees of the party, some of them senior status, mainly from the party's regional headquarters in Warrington but also from the Millbank headquarters in London.

Even with this advantage the winning Labour candidate received only just over 30 per cent of the votes cast. That hardly represents a ringing endorsement and serves simply to emphasise that there is an anti-Labour majority in Burnley that is frustrated by the fragmentation of the opposition and the crude unfairness of the 'first past the post' electoral system.

In a straight fight with Labour, the Independent candidate would have won with ease.

Your report on the by-election also mentioned the view of the town's MP Peter Pike, that now Labour has an overall majority of two on the council they could 'start to deliver' for the people of Burnley.

Perhaps Mr Pike will tell us whether this will be the same standard of delivery the Labour majority on the council produced between 1970 and 2000, when by any objective measure of community cohesion and well-being the town went downhill at an alarming rate.

HARRY BROOKS, Bouldsworth Road, Burnley.