04/10/04

Tanni has been overlooked by those in office. Make Tanni a dame. - Kevin Grainger, Darlington.

POLITICS

ALAN Milburn has lost a lot of support from the people of Darlington because of his attack on Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown is well respected by many people within the electorate as a whole, no matter what their political allegiance might be.

I think Mr Milburn is getting carried away in some ways by his new government responsibilities, more's the shame.

I find it rather amusing that Tony Blair is implying that he got rid of Saddam Hussein. It was American military manpower that accomplished that - Britain having only a relatively small part to play in that process.

Saddam Hussein would still be running Iraq were it not for America and George Bush. - Peter Johnstone, Darlington.

EMPLOYMENT

IAN Dormer, of the Institute of Directors, tells us businesses are going to create jobs for the North-East (Echo,Sept.24).

Well, they are a long time in doing so. Unemployment is the history of the region.

Businesses employ people because they have to, keeping numbers to a minimum (consistent with maximum profits of course) whilst seeking to reduce wages.

Marks & Spencer and the stream of call centre jobs going to India are but two of the better known examples of this.

Another philanthropic practice of industry is to pay the lowest wages anywhere in the advanced capitalist countries.

That Mr Dormer supports the No campaign for a regional assembly indicates a Yes vote would be very much in the interests of working people. - John Beech, Kelloe.

FLUORIDE

YOUR picture of a toothless kid (Echo, Sept 22) represents how much of the population? Let's say one per cent.

So the majority of people have to swallow fluoridated water without choice, even though more than one scientist has voiced doubts about this kind of mass medication. But why stop there. The possibilities are endless, a mild drug for control of violent human behaviour, etc.

Do I hear the words "that's a ridiculous suggestion"? Exactly, and don't forget, naturally fluoridated water is a different animal to water which has the chemically produced fluoride added. - F Atkinson, Shincliffe.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

LIBERAL Democrat leader Charles Kennedy tells us that "the middle classes should pay more for a better society".

But even before their conference, the Liberal Democrats had announced that they would raise more than 40 new taxes if they ever got their hands on the reins of power. Their local income tax alone would cost an average couple in Darlington £519 extra a year.

These 40 extra taxes would, of course, come on top of the 66 extra taxes which have so far been imposed by the current Labour Government. In addition, the LibDems have made more than 100 spending commitments, all of which will require funding.

Current LibDem proposals would saddle working families with a local income tax, regional income tax, national income tax of 50 per cent, higher council tax bands, 200 per cent council tax on second homes, higher parish precepts on council tax, a new water levy on council tax, a dog tax, a graduate tax, higher National Insurance, a smokers' tax, stealth increases in capital gains tax by abolishing taper relief, a water meters tax and VAT on new homes.

The reality is that the Lib Dems are seeking to out-tax and out-spend Labour. Come the next election, voters will have a stark choice between the tax-now-ask-questions-later approach of Labour and the LibDems, and the Conservatives, committed to eliminating waste in public services and reinvesting the savings in the front line. - Anthony Frieze, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Darlington.

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

THE Yes campaigners for a North East assembly have set a pattern for their campaign: play the man and not the ball.

Firstly, they falsely claimed the No side is a party political Conservative campaign.

Now they attack the North East Chamber of Commerce for a "biased" survey of members after a straightforward poll of 888 members showed 74 per cent against an assembly.

As a member of the Chamber of Commerce I realise that an assembly will cost people lots, with no benefit.

In the first year, running the assembly will cost around £25m, which will be added to council tax. After the first year, the running costs will be many more millions.

Yes campaigners are rattled. They realise people are catching on that under their proposals politicians will talk while we pay. - Graham Robb, Middleton St George.

HOW disappointing that individuals are hiding their civic identity from the wider public when this very important debate is clearly linked to changes in local government, accuracy of information and trust in politicians in general.

Dr Henig (HAS, Sept 29) castigates the outcome of a Chamber of Commerce survey, which stated around 74 per cent of businesses (those who voted) were against the proposed assembly.

Dr Henig is certainly allowed his view, but why not inform the public of the fact he's deputy leader of Chester-le-Street District Council. The same of letter writer David Taylor-Gooby, a councillor on Easington District Council.

So, back to the business people, of which your worry is that only 20 per cent voted and the questions were not to your liking. Are you suggesting there should be a definitive turnout and result in the referendum before legitimacy prevails? - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

EUROPE

A NEWLY elected MEP stated that Britain would be better off outside the European Union because we could make our own trade deals.

If every country took that same attitude there would have to be a spider's web of bilateral agreements that would enable the 'beggar my neighbour' policies that bedevilled trade between the two world wars. If we consider the vastly increased volume of trade now as opposed to the 1920s and 1930s, it does not take much imagination to see the kind of devastation that would happen to the economies of the world, let alone Europe.

It is precisely this kind of devastation that leads to extremism where the strongest use force to secure the resources that we need to live.

The MEP quoted wildly inaccurate figures for our trade with Europe. An examination of trade figures shows that, in 2000, our trade with Europe was 55 per cent and rising and not 15 per cent as quoted. The latter is a figure that more accurately represents our trade with the United States.

There is a need to develop a sense of history if we are not going to make the same mistakes as we did in the past. Anyone who claims that the European Union is perfect is wrong. What can be claimed is that it is the best international organisation that we have ever had and that we need to keep working at it to bring about improvements. - Bill Morehead, Darlington.