ALL three main political parties were involved in electioneering activities this week in their bid to woo Bury South voters.

And Tory election hopeful Nicola Le Page has wasted no time in getting down to brass tacks in her campaign.

She is making national pride a key plank in her strategy to win back the Bury South seat the Tories lost in 1997.

Mrs Le Page, a keen supporter of the Keep the £ campaign, has accused Labour contestant Ivan Lewis of being "unpatriotic" over the question of British licence plates.

Speaking to supporters in Radcliffe, she revealed that Ivan Lewis was one of more than 200 Labour MPs who voted to make it illegal to display the Union Jack on your licence plate.

"I am appalled," she said, "to think that the person who purports to represent the people of Bury South has chosen to use his precious vote in the House of Commons to suppress the thousands of people who want to express their pride in their country.

"Ivan Lewis wants to fine people £1,000 for showing that they are proud to be British. It will become illegal to display the Union Jack on your licence plate but legal to display the flag of the European Union." Mrs Le Page added: "I think Ivan Lewis owes it to the people of this constituency to come clean about his intentions to vote away British sovereignty and British identity, and take us into a European Super State. "I'm proud to be British. As an Ulsterwoman I've always known what it meant to have your nationality and identity threatened, now thanks to their own unpatriotic MP the people of Bury South can know what it feels like too.

"If you're proud to be British, it's now crystal clear that only one party and one candidate will stand up for your rights, and that's me and the Conservative Party."

Meanwhile, not many people appreciate an impromptu visit from their boss unless there's a prospect of promotion!?

Whatever the reason, Labour election candidate Ivan Lewis wasn't complaining when trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers dropped in to his Prestwich office.

Mr Lewis, who defends the Bury South seat he won in 1997, was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mr Byers.

Another big name was in the constituency this week. Home office minister Charles Clarke came to Radcliffe on Wednesday (May 23) to go on patrol with Ivan and the borough's community safety wardens.

He then went to a private meeting with Radcliffe police with Mr Lewis and his Bury North counterpart David Chaytor.

Meanwhile, Mr Lewis has challenged his Tory opponent Nicola Le Page to "come clean" and say which local services will suffer under Tory spending cuts.

He says their plans equate to £30 million of cuts in Bury South, which could mean the loss of 50 police officers, 75 teachers, and 30 doctors.

Action to improve local town centres was top of the agenda when the Liberal Democrats' Battlebus stormed into the borough.

At the helm were North West Euro MP Chris Davies and Lib Dem member of the House of Lords, Lord (David) Shutt of Greetland.

They were here to throw their support behind Bury South candidate Tim Pickstone and his Bury North counterpart Bryn Hackley.

Both the Parliamentarians and the parliamentary hopefuls spent the morning meeting shoppers in Prestwich precinct, where the Number One concern was worry about the future of the precinct and the closure of Sainsburys.

Mr Pickstone said: "Many people in Prestwich are deeply concerned about the closure of Sainsburys and what future Prestwich Precinct has without it.

"The recent investment plans from the Labour Council have just proved to be too little and too late.

"We need to do more to ensure that right across Bury South, in Radcliffe, Prestwich and Whitefield, that town centres get the investment they need for good local shops and services.

"I'm really pleased that Chris Davies MEP chose to stop off in Prestwich to support us on this issue. It shows how important the Lib Dem work in the area is to the party."