THOUSANDS of people were descending on Scarborough today for the start of Labour's three-day local government conference.

Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to address the conference on Sunday, schedules permitting.

He is expected to give a ringing endorsement to the concept of elected Mayors with executive powers as a focus to 'reinvigorate' local councils.

But he could also find himself confronted by angry pensioners from York demanding to know why his government is starving local authorities of cash.

Joan Merryweather, of the York Older People's Forum, hopes to use the chance to present the prime minister with a letter outlining why local pensioners are angry at proposed above-inflation increases in the cost of home care in York.

She said: "I hope to present Tony Blair with a letter listing the proposed increases, and asking how does he think people on such a low income can afford this sort of thing.

"It is not York's local government we should be blaming, but the national government. They're the ones who are stopping all the money to local government."

The three-day conference was opening this afternoon with Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott welcoming 1,500 delegates from all over the country to Scarborough's Spa complex.

Other cabinet and government heavyweights due to make an appearance over the next two days include education secretary David Blunkett and Hilary Armstrong, the minister for local government.

Security will be tight as tensions in the Gulf and Northern Ireland continue to escalate.

Hotels and guest houses across the borough are full for the next three days.

And the conference is expected to generate massive publicity for the seaside resort, which local tourism chiefs hope will make it a regular on the party conference circuit.

Scarborough's acting director of leisure and tourism Peter Dahl said: "We have, in the past, had a lot of trades union and party political conferences.

"That has not happened for some time. It is good to see things coming back to Scarborough.

"I would hope in future we could be a regular place on the conference circuit. We couldn't handle the main Labour Party conference, but a special conference like this is a real feather in our cap."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.