IN view of the enormous response in the letters column to what I thought was a casual and innocuous comment made by me before Christmas, perhaps I owe it to your readers to explain myself and put my remarks in context.

I suggested that our town might need a relaunch because I believe that there is a huge gap between the reality of life in Bolton in 2004 and the national image of the town.

The reality is a town of virtual full employment, voted Britain's Friendliest Town with a council rated "Excellent" by the Audit Commission, a Premiership Football Club (now top half!) and a greener than ever environment.

Taking the last point alone, when I was a lad I lived at the bottom of Deane and didn't know that Winter Hill existed because you couldn't see it for atmospheric pollution. I fished in the Middlebrook for all that could live in it, ie: sticklebacks. Last summer I caught 11 brown trout, between lb and 1lbs, in one afternoon in the same stream.

The strides we have made are enormous, yet this is not reflected in our image.

In my one and only appearance in "Private Eye" I was described as "Deputy Leader of Grimy Mill Town Bolton", though we certainly are not grimy and the textile industry has all but disappeared.

To set the record straight, a name change was never council or even Labour Group policy. It was a suggestion made by me as an individual council member which, when put to the Labour Group, did not command its support. There is a technical word for this - it is called democracy, and it is a process with which I am very comfortable.

In view of the personal nature of some of the material that has appeared over the past few weeks, perhaps I could be allowed to address some of these issues.

Re my "war" with Bob Howarth -- I have been his deputy for 21 years. If two strong minded individuals did not have occasional spats over that period, democracy would indeed be dead. I have voted for Bob to be Leader of the Council on 24 consecutive occasions, and if I am re-elected after next June's all out election I shall make it 25.

My roots in the town and knowledge of its history have been questioned. Apart from my time at University I have lived in Bolton all my life, and the Harkin family has since Ireland had a little local difficulty with the potato crop in the middle of the 19th century. Such is my ignorance of the town's history, that London University awarded me a Masters Degree for a dissertation which focused on Bolton's engineering industry in the second half of the 19th century.

Finally, even my commitment to the County Palatine and the Wanderers have been raised. Bolton has never been anywhere but in Lancashire, and I have been going to watch the Wanderers since 1950 when my late father took me on his shoulders to a match against Preston so that I in my dotage would be able to tell my grandchildren that I had seen the world's greatest footballer (Tom Finney) play.

Last of all, in an age of apathy and cynicism, could I express my satisfaction at the great outpouring of pride in our town which your pages have witnessed over the past month.

Cllr Guy Harkin

Executive Member

for Environment