The European Parliamentary Elections are over. They have often been doggedby voter apathy and this year was no different. Even when I walked into the Town Hall for the Count the atmosphere was subdued and this continued throughout the evening into the ealry hours of Monday morning.

I went home to watch the television and await the results for the North West Region. Readers will not be surprised that I was extremely please that the Conservatives returned three members and came out top in the North West. Conservatives are now the only party with an MEP in every region of the UK and overall got as many votes as Labour and Liberal Democrats combined. The local eletions were also a tremendous success for the Cosnervative Party with 244 new Conservative Councillors elected and several Councils moving to Conservative control.

Analysing the results it is obvious that the public used the European Elections in the same way they used the local elections the previous Thursday. This was to reinforce the message of the anger and resentment people feel towards the present Labour Government and its disaster-prone Prime Minister. The public has rightly shown much anger towards the Labour Government's terrible performance, continued internal meltdown and complete lack of direction for the country at a time of recession - the depth of which Labour are largely responsible for. At a time of economic and political crises we need a strong and united Government, not the chaos we've seen from this ailing Government.

The animosity towards the Government showed in the decimated Labour vote (in Stockport the Labour vote halved!) and this was undoubtedly a major contributor to the BNPs stealing a seat. The other candidates walked off the stage in Manchester Town Hall and turned their backs as the BNP leader claimed this sad victory. we must ensure that this party does not make further progress in this Borough. All political parties in Stockport are in agreement on this.

It is clear that people agree with the Conservative sentiment that it's "time for change". After 12 years in Government (12 of those as Chancellor) Gordon Brown is tired and his Government exhausted. It's time to call a General Election and let the people decide. How about it Gordon?

Are you doing anything on 20th and 21st June? Why not go along to Bramhall festival? My colleague Cllr Paul Bellis has worked hard on the festival and it promises to be a lively, imaginative event providing entertainment combined with the excellent community spirit Bramhall is famous for.

Cllr Les Jones
Conservative Group Leader
Heatons North

This article, by Cllr Les Jones, was first published by the Stockport Express on 17.06.09.