You Write

The disillusionment and sheer disgust of many former Labour members is based on far more than the Iraq war or the regional assembly fiasco.

The breaking of the manifesto promise on top-up fees, for example. Blair stated he had no problem breaking that promise 'because times change.'

Mr Lindsay wants to abolish the House of Lords. So did one-time fire-brand Neil Kinnock - an arch Blairite and ex-EU gravy train rider who now embraces the Lords.

Mr Lindsay rightly wants to re-nationalise the railways. Where was he when the 'modernisers' joyously abandoned Clause 4?

Gordon Brown, a Labour (!) Chancellor grandly announces he plans to make tens of thousands of civil-servants redundant.

While closing dozens of post offices the Government trumpets its approval for the wide-spread opening of casinos

Come home to the Labour party? A party dominated by careerists whose only ideology is self-aggrandisement. A party led by a Prime Minister who has absolutely no affinity to the grassroots of the Trade Union and Labour movement whatsoever, but who glories in his fawning friendship with the neo-conservative Bush, the right-wing Republican president of corporate America.

No wonder party membership is now lowest since Ramsay MacDonald.

Ray Thompson, Castleside. Former Secretary, Lanchester Labour Party

Home rule

I voted 'No' to the regional assembly as I thought it was just a sop to us for the various devolutions in the rest of the country.

I want an English Parliament, purely on the grounds that if you look at England, Scotland, Wales. and Northern Ireland as four sides of a square and the composition of three of the sides is fundamentally altered by devolution then the fourth side, England, cannot stay the same.

Currently, we have the ludicrous situation of Scottish and Welsh MPs voting on fundamental English issues such as education and health without a reciprocal right for English MPs.

I have to be careful I do not get paranoid about the Scots as many of them are sitting as Government Ministers and even more Scots - over one hundred, I'm told - sit as MPs for English constituencies.

I would like to see a campaign for an English Parliament. I don't see it coming easily, but the present situation cannot continue.

I'm sure there will be much weeping and wailing and dire predictions if one is proposed, but what the heck, they started it.

Fred Anderson, Durham

Too many

As a resident of Framwellgate Moor, I would like to know why the council has granted planning permission for yet another Indian take-away on the front street.

We already have two Indians, a Chinese, two pizza shops, a fish and chip shop plus two sandwich shops.

I can only surmise that the planning permission committee members do not live in this area. It is time they got their act together and stopped this wall-to-wall take-away.

While notices were up stating there would be a £50 fine for anyone dropping litter, the pavements were reasonably clean.

Now the notices are no longer up, the street is a disgrace at lunchtimes. It is time the local council did something about this mess after all we vote for it to look after our interests but this seems to fall on stony ground.

Valerie Richardson, Framwellgate Moor, Durham.

Family search

As part of a family history search I am trying to trace descendants of William Walter Jones, of Wolverhampton, who was a self-employed optician at Crown House, Durham Road, Birtley, between 1935 and 1945.

His home address was Holmlea Long Bank Road, Birtley, Chester-le-Street, where William lived with his two sons Harold Walter and Cyril up to 1945.

All information will be gratefully received.

Mark Jones, 3 Tudor Crescent, Penn, Wolverhampton, WV2 4PX (01902) 331944.