REGIONAL GOVERNMENT: DENISE Robertson is yet another voice in favour of a North-East Regional Assembly.

She is correct is saying that if this opportunity is not taken we will lose out.

The Government is giving us this chance to make our voices heard and to have an influence on how our region is run; it is a chance we cannot afford to miss. - S White, Bishop Auckland.

EUROPE

I FEEL physically sick when I read the letters of people like Olwyn Sewell or T Kelly (HAS, June 17).

They sound as though they really would like to be back at war. The EU is not a "betrayal", it is the best way to use the freedom won by the servicemen of 60 years ago.

I have seen many examples of veteran servicemen greeting their opposite numbers with no malice. I'm sure they do not want to see their grandchildren and great grandchildren plunged into such horror ever again.

May I remind the dinosaurs of the UKIP that Hitler rose to power with exactly the same sort of policies that they now advocate. - Yvonne Benn, Burneston, Bedale.

HUGH Pender describes UKIP as "little Englanders" for standing up for British values, and saying no to Europe (HAS, June 18).

The UK Independence Party has both the Labour and Conservative parties running scared. You only have to see the recent election results to notice this. I am so pleased at the rise of UKIP, as us "little Englanders" now have a party that will take note of the majority of people in the United Kingdom, and say no to Europe.

Under the leadership of UKIP, we would keep our trade with European countries but govern ourselves and apply our own laws, which is what we always have done.

I want to be governed by Westminster, and not some foreigner sat in Brussels. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

FLAGS

THE reason so many councils and politicians of the New Labour and LibDem fraternity try to ban England's Cross of St George is because they are busy inventing new flags for the "regions of Britain".

All this united English flag-waving undermines their efforts to carve England up and hand us over to the EU as a non-nation.

England is not recognised by any Westminster politicians from any party or the EU, and unless an English Parliament is formed soon, England will disappear for good. - K Young, Darlington.

PUBLIC SERVICES

POLITICIANS have got it wrong again. Both major parties are putting "choice" as their rally-call.

Choice is very divisive, leading to postcode services. People don't want a choice in their hospitals and schools. What they want is high standard services at all levels, not elitist selection of the best doctors, teachers and staff, which downgrades the remainder into a second-class or lower role.

Choice is very divisive. We all deserve the best. - R Harbron, Norton.

WEAR VALLEY COUNCIL

OF course, having been through redundancy twice and done my share of poorly-paid jobs, I concede that the work of many, including that of Wear Valley District Council, in attempting to attract new jobs to the district, is highly commendable.

Unfortunately, the stance taken by the leader of WVDC is somewhat hypocritical. As an appointed member (note I did not say elected) of the Committee of the Region, our leader is required to attend regular meetings in Brussels, while representing the (again, unelected) North-East Assembly.

How can you simultaneously be leader of WVDC, state you want democracy to remain local, and then take a seat with the North-East Assembly, who given a positive vote will oversee the loss of jobs and removal of WVDC.

How can you remain an appointed member of an organisation that would remove the jobs of the people you are meant to be leader of? - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT

NEW Government proposals would lead to the loss of free school transport for many pupils. The Draft School Transport Bill will allow local education authorities to charge pupils for transport where it is currently free.

Presently, if pupils live more than three miles (or two miles for under-eights) from their school, transport is free. The new bill will allow authorities to charge children unless they have protected status, that is the small percentage of children who claim free school meals.

Such proposals will particularly affect children in rural areas where there is no public transport.

It is concerning that more parents will use cars to take their children to school rather than pay or let them walk. This will lead to added traffic on the roads and thus have an effect on the environment.

The Liberal Democrats believe that children have a right to a free education and that these proposals undermine that right. Phil Willis, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough and our education spokesperson, is spearheading a petition against the proposals. - Jacqueline Bell, PPC Liberal Democrats, Richmond.

CHILDREN

EQUAL protection is every child's right. Yet, though children are the smallest and most fragile, the law allowing "reasonable chastisement" means that they have less protection from being hit in the home than adults. It just doesn't make sense.

So-called reasonable chastisement sends out a dangerous and misleading message about the acceptability of violence towards children and, in some cases, the legal defence is used in court to excuse beatings. Dating back to 1860, this law is out of step with modern family values.

Cultural change is badly needed and only the law can drive this forward. The last substantial study, commissioned by the Department of Health in the 1990s, shows that most children are hit, and around a third are punished severely. Belts, canes and slippers are still used and most babies are "smacked" before their first birthday.

How can we expect real change if the law says hitting children is acceptable, which it does now? It is vital that the law discourages this behaviour.

This is already happening across Europe. Germany, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Cyprus and many more countries have modernised their laws, and we should too.

The way forward is to give children the same protection from being hit as adults enjoy. This means scrapping the archaic law allowing "reasonable chastisement". I am not pleading a special case for children, simply equal protection.

New survey findings show that the British public see the logic of this case. It is now up to the Westminster politicians to act. - Glenys Kinnock MEP, c/o Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance.