I WOULD like to thank Mrs Rigby for her incredibly kind words in the Guardian letters page.

You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that my work had such a positive effect on people.

Like Mrs Rigby, I also love Winsford. That is why I became a councillor in the first place.

It was never about egos, political point scoring or anything else other than a love of the town and its people. I loved the role so much that, on the day I resigned, I actually had tears in my eyes.

It was a very difficult thing for me to do but I hope everyone understood that I had no choice due to the awful employment situation.

As a town councillor, you receive no wage and I spent at least 20 hours a week working on council-related duties (many weeks more than that) and for a good amount of my time as a town councillor, I was on and off the dole.

It still angers me that this Tory/Lib Dem Government are, like a proud peacock, fabricating employment figures by classing agency work as ‘steady employment’.

There is nothing steady about not knowing whether you can buy a month’s food or not in case you lose your job the next week.

As for me, I have managed to build myself a living, taking things in to my own hands.

I would love to return to the political scene and I know I have that base of support but I must ensure me and mine are okay first.

Thank you Mrs Rigby and everyone else who has contacted me since I resigned, it really is a very special feeling for me and rest assured you will see me again one day.

Finally, I appreciate the best looking man in politics comment, although I’m not sure can agree – I tried to tell the modelling agents but they aren’t having any of it!

Mike Burns Cumbria