UKIP supporters are enjoying their day in the sun following the recent elections, and that’s expected.

As a party specifically set up as an anti-European group, it’s hardly surprising that they topped the poll in the European Elections with 27pc of the vote.

The other parties with broadly pro-European policies took the majority vote at 73pc. But nevertheless, we must acknowledge that they hit a nerve with over a quarter of UK voters.

UKIP may well have a racist and xenophobic agenda, but I am not one of those people who buy into the idea that this means that all their voters share those views. Some do, but I believe most do not.

However, I feel a bit of rain on their parade, in terms of the council elections, is applicable, as anyone reading recent letters in The Bolton News could be forgiven for thinking that UKIP won in Bolton.

They didn’t, neither in terms of total votes, nor in terms of councillors elected. Labour has been privileged to have been given the support of the largest share of the voting public for many years now and 2014 was no exception.

Out of the 21 seats contested, Labour won 13, and not just in the central areas, but in Westhoughton, Horwich and Blackrod as well. Hardly a firm rejection of the Labour Council as some correspondents would have us believe.

The share of the vote Labour took in Bolton is also higher than what we achieved in any council election between, and including, 2000 and 2010. Hardly a downward spiral for Labour.

What was different in these elections was that our opposition had changed. We have been used to fighting just one Tory opposition and, for a time, a revitalised LibDem party.

Now, we are fighting two Tory parties. So, what happened on May 22 was that Labour maintained its popular position, UKIP came in second, the Conservatives dropped to their lowest share of the vote for 25 years and the LibDems crashed to irrelevance.

The big question now is what happens in 2015. Mr Farage has made the prediction that UKIP will gain more seats in Bolton next year, an assumption about Bolton voters that exposes his arrogance.

He and his followers do not know what will happen next year. If they want to crow and make predictions, that’s their choice, but may I remind them it’s the people of Bolton that will decide, not them.

The reality is that next year’s general election will come down to one issue alone. Do people still want the discredited ConDem coalition to continue to run this country, or do they want to re-elect three hardworking Bolton Labour MPs, who can be a part of a new Labour Government that will not be afraid to stand up to the banks and vested privilege in this country.

A Labour Government that will tackle the scourge of youth unemployment, reverse the cutting of funds to the NHS and deal with the cost of living crisis that is crippling household finances. That will be the choice in May, 2015.

Cllr Nick Peel Labour councillor Tonge with the Haulgh