Congratulations to the Conservatives for the excellent results achieved here in Swindon.

In my opinion this was because of two particular reasons, and the lame excuse being put forward by the Labour Party, eg, the Iraq war, is, well, lame.

The first reason is Europe, and the British peoples' innate suspicion of everything east of the Dogger Bank! We taxi drivers, working the streets night and day, and coming into contact with the public, are all too aware of the antipathy that exists towards closer integration with our European neighbours, and I would feel comfortable in saying, that the majority of British people, if pressed, would opt for a complete withdrawal.

The second reason is the disillusionment that the majority of people here have with the Labour Party. Their tenure has been littered with inefficiency, broken promises, arrogance and plain small-mindedness, as we hackney taxi drivers are all too aware.

We were the victims of an anti-hackney council, who ignored our pleas for sensible taxi ranks, not hidden peripheral ones, use of bus lanes, regular fare increases, and a rampant private hire sector that steal our fares because of their uncontrolled growth. Whenever we complained to the council they muttered darkly about deregulation, and sometimes instigated a review, at our expense, which was just another blind alley.

Swindon Council's Conservative leader Mike Bawden seems to be sympathetic towards our grievances, as did other Conservative councillors, but now that they are in power, it will be interesting to see where their sympathy really lies.

Tony Mclellan

Colchester Close

Toothill

Swindon