22/10/04

So why was the National Coal Mining Museum for England established at Cap House Colliery, Overton, West Yorkshire and not here in the Durham Coalfield, which most people in England would agree is its natural home?

The answer, I am afraid, is dreadfully simple. The members of South and West Yorkshire Councils established a joint venture, determined to secure it for their part of the country. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport provided funding which secured its long term future after being established at Overton in 1995.

Durham County Council did not even try.

By the year 1991, it was becoming increasingly obvious that coal mining was coming to an end in the county with Murton pitmen in imminent danger of losing their colliery.

On February 11, 1992, The Northern Echo ran a leader testing the opinion of the people of Murton and the wider community thus: "In other mining counties, closed pits have been retained so that future generations can witness at first hand the conditions in which their forefathers had to work. It would be a shame if Durham, a county founded on coal mining, were to have no tangible reminder of its industrial heritage".

Our leaders at County Hall did nothing. Future generations will not easily forgive the guilty men. - John Beech, Kelloe.

IRAQ

IT is currently unclear when, but the likelihood is that soon British troops will be committed to the US sector of Iraq.

At Prime Minister's Questions this week Charles Kennedy told the Prime Minister that British troop deployment to Iraq "should come only at the request of British commanders on the ground and only for the purpose of fulfilling more effectively the role they are undertaking".

He also said that the Prime Minister should do more to address "the very legitimate concerns" of relatives of Black Watch soldiers. He concluded by asking if the Prime Minister would put the issue of the deployment of British troops to the US sector to a vote of the House of Commons.

The Liberal Democrats have been a consistent and unified voice throughout the Iraq situation.

Their call for a vote has been backed to date by 44 Labour MPs, who are concerned that British troops will be placed at a significantly increased risk if sent to the US sector.

I endorse the call for a vote in the hope that MPs will be given the chance to debate and make an informed decision on such an important matter for British service personnel and their families. - Jacqueline Bell, PPC Liberal Democrats, Richmond.

BRITISH troops will very soon be under American command and make no mistake about it. What the Government has done is a clever move - left military matters out in Iraq to the military hierarchy itself.

And for every British soldier killed in Iraq there have been ten Americans killed. So mustn't we be prepared to see the aforementioned kill ratio narrowed somewhat? That's many more of our troops killed out in Iraq now that they will very soon be under American command.

Frankly speaking, the situation out in Iraq is getting worse by the minute and it does not look like ending. And who is to blame for getting us into that war which we should never have got into in the first place?

Had not the Middle East been so rich in oil as it is, tyrant Saddam Hussein would still have been ruling Iraq. Never mind Saddam's wickedness, itself used ostensibly for Tony Blair's, as well as George Bush's political gain. And Saddam Hussein is not (was not) the only tyrant-dictator in the world. - Alfred H Lister, Guisborough.

FORMULA ONE

WHO does Bernie Ecclestone think he is? Like a lot of small men in history, his massive ego and greed seem to more than compensate for his lack of stature.

There is no doubt that he has done tremendous work in F1 to promote the sport but such a huge money spinning tour should never be under the control of one man.

In a sport where money talks, Mr Ecclestone's seems to talk louder than most.

The British GP at Silverstone is the home of motor racing, as can be seen by the number of F1 teams that make their base there or thereabouts.

So, hands off Bernie. Give motor racing back to the people that promote it for the correct reasons. Remember your roots and let Jackie Stewart and his colleagues get on with what they know best, promoting motorsport that the real fans can see and enjoy. - Robin Rutherford, Darlington.

PENSIONS

BOTH the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives keep asking Prime Minister Tony Blair to say sorry to the nation about the non-existence of weapons of mass distraction in Iraq.

Surely the most important issue they should be pressing the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to apologise to the people of Britain for is the mass destruction of our pension system.

It is estimated that we need to save an extra £57bn a year to secure our pensions, yet recent figures indicate Gordon Brown has taken £35bn from our funds in higher taxes.

This Government has also introduced so many means-tested benefits for pensioners, that most people have no real incentive to save any more. The fact is in 2004, £1 saved can mean a loss of 91p in benefits. There is a number of things that this Prime Minister and Chancellor have done since they came into power in 1997 that I have disagreed with, but I think this is by far the worst thing that they have done. This will inflict financial misery on hundreds of thousands, if not millions of us over the next 20 to 30 years.

It's an unbelievable fact that when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are living in comfortable retirement, they will be surrounded by millions of retired people worse off than their parents were.

This is a real tragedy waiting to happen. - Pat Walker, Middlesbrough.

AS a local vet recently retired and being self-employed, I have had to fund my own pension, which is entirely subject to the vagaries of the stock market. No index linking for me!

It distresses me greatly that the private sector is so blatantly discriminated against. As for the generous pensions MPs have voted for themselves, it makes my blood boil.

What, I have to ask myself, is so special about the contribution that politicians make to society? I really believe lawyers could make a case for the Government to be taken to the European Court Of Human Rights on grounds of gross discrimination against one section of society and misappropriation of taxpayers' money. - Peter Hill, Darlington.