IN the end it was all too predictable: a massive victory for Labour with the Conservatives nowhere in sight.

The night represented an almost universal cold shoulder for William Hague's brand of Conservatism which for some time now has been badly out of step with the feelings of the British people.

An able and articulate politician, Mr Hague is nevertheless a million miles from the one nation Tory approach that his party needs to adopt if it is to claw its way back to power. Today he took what was probably the only sensible course open to him: resignation.

As for Labour, their celebrations must be heavily tempered by the dreadfully low turnout at the polls. Their victory sprang largely from a woefully inept Conservative alternative. Yes, Labour have been steady managers of the economy and in citing schools and hospitals as their priorities they have at least caught the mood of a significant proportion of the British people.

They have, however, since their huge win in 1997, failed to produce striking results. Their achievements have been modest and it is hard to escape the feeling that they have largely had their eye on retaining power rather than moving the country forward.

This time they need to address their shortcomings with a vengeance, turn their often commendable sentiments into action and step forward to claim their place in history as a party of achievement.

Locally there were few surprises at the polls although the massively increased majority of Nigel Evans in the Ribble Valley, while a personal accolade for him, may also tell us something about the way the government is currently handling the foot and mouth crisis. One of the other noteworthy points of the night was the disturbingly high vote registered by the British National Party in Burnley - a result which perhaps tells us that the supporters of community harmony need to regroup to keep the negative forces at work in the borough at bay.

Elsewhere our sitting MPs more or less got the results that were expected of them. Their mission in the next few years must be to summon all of their energy and skill to help bring about the changes needed to take East Lancashire towards the greater prosperity it so urgently needs.