REGIONAL ASSEMBLY: SPEAKING as an individual, I consider that central government has the powers to address the problems of the North-East by creating a Minister for the North.

With powers to correct the unfair and outdated Barnett Formula, the minister would need to address the loss of manufacturing job losses in this region and give more help to small and medium local companies.

It is ironic that at a time when vital post offices are closing and the public consider that there is too much government red tape and bureaucracy, they can afford another tier of government. A regional assembly would be controlled by the leader and a cabinet of six, moving local representation away from the people and putting power into the hands of a few.

I consider that Option A, a single unitary authority for County Durham serving a population of 493,500 would be too large and remote.

We could have had a unitary authority (removing a tier of local government, and saving council tax payers' money) without having the extra cost of a regional assembly. - Councillor Ben Ord, Spennymoor Ward, Sedgefield Borough Council.

JOHN Heslop (HAS, Oct 10) appears to not understand the present situation regarding regional government because he is concerned primarily with infrastructure.

When an industrial complex is being created, roads, drains, water, gas and electricity have to be installed first. This operation is followed by the erection of factory units. Machinery is placed in position, labour recruited, then production commences.

The proposed regional assembly is a phased operation so by voting, yes, the first phase can begin. Other phases will slowly follow in a continuous pattern until the new product is placed on view.

What the No campaigners require is a finished product without the means of production. This can only be done through examining a similar situation in another region.

Where is there another region with three rivers, obsolete steel and shipbuilding industries and a labour market that has to be trained or retrained to compete in the modern global world? It does not exist.

We are now on our own and, like those who in the past emigrated to create the British Empire, we have watched the ship disappear over the horizon.

It is no use listening to people who talk incessantly about imaginative divisions, centrality and have wild visions, or small cliques who know what is best for everybody without consultation and vociferous voices who obtained their status under different circumstances.

We cannot stand still or go back. We have to consolidate our position then expand as we develop all our resources. - Thomas Conlon, Spennymoor.

PUBLIC FINANCES

ACCORDING to Gordon Brown, Britain's economy is the fourth most successful in the world.

Yet the Government is always short of money. Why? Because it is paying out more than it has coming in.

The centuries-old taxation system is breaking down. The solution to this problem is very simple. Nationalise the banks and take the money from them. - J Conlon, Willington.

POPPY APPEAL

ON Monday, I will be launching the 2004 Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal Week in Durham.

I write to ask businesses, shops and offices to allow a collecting box on to their premises and make an appeal to the Durham public: do not pass by one of the familiar red boxes, stop and, within your means, give a generous sum.

The demand on the Legion resources continues to grow, not least because of the continuing conflict in Iraq. The Poppy Appeal is as relevant today as it ever was and the Legion is there to help those in need in our ex-service community and their dependants.

The Legion is continuing its Poppy People Campaign this year to recruit more volunteers, who are so desperately needed. Anyone over 16 can help in some way, they only need to ring 0800 085 5924.

The public should be aware how efficiently the money is spent. A small percentage is expended on administration and all the rest is devoted to the many charitable activities of the Legion. The Appeal provides funds for residential and convalescent homes, assists widows to visit overseas graves, provides holidays for the severely disabled, trains the disabled and provides sheltered employment for them.

These ex-servicemen and women, and their dependants are entitled to request help from us and deserve a willing response. - Mary R Hawgood, The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Durham.

RELIGION

THE Rev Paul Walker makes a good point in his Saturday Sermon (Echo, Oct 9) when he says there is a spiritual vacuum at the centre of our society.

All the political parties claim they would give us utopia if only we vote for them. They claim they know exactly how to cure our ills, satisfy our needs and remove the feelings of dissatisfaction that plague our society. As the Rev Walker says, sometimes they deliver, at least in part. It still doesn't really satisfy though.

No amount of man-made solutions will fill the spiritual vacuum that is sucking the life-blood of our nation. As long as people are afraid to discuss religion or believe it's not "cool" or it's beneath their vaunted human intelligence to acknowledge God, the vacuum will continue to grow. So will the dissatisfaction and lack of meaning to life. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

IRAQ

WHAT a marked contrast the fortunes of the Iraq war have thrown up. On the one hand, the Bigley family and thousands like them, are mourning the loss of their loved ones and trying to come to terms with their tragic loss.

Whilst on the other, the Blairs, in America, whose popularity is at its peak as a result of supporting Bush and the war, are to dine out on it, and, reportedly, receive £30,000 each time they do. What a topsy turvy world this is. - John Simpson, Bishop Auckland.

DESPITE all the media exposure there have been few opinions from the public for fear of saying the wrong thing. This is understandable because it was an awful experience for Ken Bigley and his family.

It is to be hoped that, as usual, the media will tire of this tragedy and focus on something else.

Let me just say that but for the Bush/Blair cavalier intervention in Iraq, thousands of lives would have been saved including that of Ken Bigley.

Wouldn't it be nice if President Bush and Mr Blair would quietly go away and leave the tragedy of Iraq to be cleaned up by others with more modest egos? - Hugh Pender, Darlington.