Why can’t the last remaining Labour councillors in Radcliffe offer something new, rather than deliver nothing but anti-Tory attacks? Local people will judge the two parties on their records.

Labour has run Radcliffe since the early 1980s. They refuse to own up to their mistakes, acknowledge their legacy and offer fresh ideas.

Ivan Lewis has, weeks before a general election in which he will be judged, cried for independence from Bury MBC.

Let me make one point absolutely clear to the people of Radcliffe: judge us on our actions, not our words.

Conservatives are in the process of turning this town around.

We have modernised a declining youth club, opened a Jobs Club for the unemployed, allocated £1m for the new secondary school and spent a further £5m purchasing the land.

We are raising the profile of Radcliffe’s unique history by showcasing our ancient monuments and parks; we have commissioned updated regeneration plans, and we will be opening Radcliffe’s once-thriving high street in less than eight weeks time.

After a slow start, Radcliffe truly has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shed itself from the misery and depression that we all endured under the incompetence and inertia of Labour rule.

I repeat, we will not offer vacuous pre-election gimmicks about Balkanising the borough to win a few votes, but we will be judged on our actions not our words.

Nothing Mr Lewis’s campaign team pulls out of the hat can stop one powerful fact — it’s time for change, not more words.

Cllr Sam Hurst Radcliffe Conservatives