POSTAL VOTING: ONCE again the Labour-dominated councils of the North-East have turned the region into a laughing stock.

The inability to organise a simple postal ballot shows the region in a very bad light, not just here, but right across the whole EU.

Just in case anyone still thinks it would be a good idea to have a Geordie Parliament, please remember it will be these local people who will control it.

Handing any more power to these people would be like giving a 15-year-old the keys to a brand new Ferrari. - Martin P Rouse, Burnopfield.

SPEEDING

I CONGRATULATE Mr Reynolds for his suggestion of speed cameras detecting offenders by the offender's number plate and sending the driver a warning beep on his mobile phone.

I have given much thought to this and can suggest a much more low-tech approach.

Get the driver to glance at his dashboard, and make sure that the needle on his speedometer does not go above the set speed limit.

As Mr Reynolds rightly states "when he reduces speed it will save lives".

As the main objection to the speed cameras seems to be that they are there to make money in fines, why not dispense with the fines and just give points on the driving licence? - Barry Wood, Edmondsley.

MISS Smith (HAS, May 27) is correct in saying that children's safety is paramount, but she is wrong in assuming all accidents are speed-related.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Most accidents are caused through careless driving.

She is quite correct in saying 45-50mph is unacceptable in a built-up area.

In fact, in some cases, 30mph is too fast, but drivers should not be penalised for straying over the limit by a couple of miles per hour on open roads or at night.

She states the police use her village for practice. Well she must be naive if she thinks speed cameras will change this.

I have read of a fire engine driver, an ambulance driver and a doctor on call all being fined for speeding. But any police I have read about have escaped prosecution through technicalities.

It is understandable that, due to human error and cars multiplying at the rate they are, there will be accidents on the roads and all the speed cameras will not change anything. - A McKimm, Crook.

PENSIONERS

RECENTLY, Wear Valley District Council informed us of the great achievement it had made in respect to it having the lowest council tax in County Durham.

This is not exactly true. What Wear Valley Council neglects to do is to inform the residents why they have the lowest increase.

Wear Valley District Council is one of the few remaining councils in the United Kingdom which does not give war pensioners the full disregards.

It is not a fair comparison with the other councils who give their war pensioners the full disregards. I applaud Sedgefield Borough Council for showing its gratitude to war pensioners.

War pensioners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all get the full disregards. Wear Valley is not prepared to give war pensioners their just entitlement. - E Roe, Bishop Auckland.

HOUSING MARKET

THE two main culprits for the outrageous house prices are the estate agents, whose valuations are ridiculous to say the least, and the Government for not meeting demand and supply. We need to be more efficient, which would help our economy and the people of our country. - N Tate, Darlington.

ID CARDS

THOSE who back ID cards and the vast computer system that will hold all sorts of personal details, should hold one figure in mind.

Last year, nearly 200 applicants for jobs were wrongly labelled as criminals by the Criminal Records Bureau.

Just think what would be the impact on your life if you were the subject of the State's mistake.

There is a very real danger of date-creep as bureaucrats add more information about you to the system. That will mean the register is like every other Government database - full of junk.

And half the population also believes all that information about you will find its way to unauthorised persons outside government.

For this you get to pay £35 every five years for your ID card. Is that what people want? - Robin Ashby, Gosforth.

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

IT is not long now until June 10, when the European elections are taking place. The novel postal vote should make it possible for many more people to make their voices heard than five years ago.

One should obviously try to get in able, informed MEPs who will continue to improve the work of the European parliament and help with the necessary reforms and changes which the enlarged parliament of 732 members may necessitate.

Britain now has 72 seats to fill, it is one of the four large members in the European Union, one of the leading members.

What use could there be in electing an anti-European Union candidate to this responsible work? How would they cope with the pressing schedule of a month's work, standing committees, plenary sessions and work with their own political group?

People with goodwill and enthusiasm will cope, but how is it when your heart is full of hatred and a will to be destructive and your head is full of malicious misinformation about the European Union?

The three UKIP members joining the European parliament in 1999 joined a very small political group with 18 members. It was called a Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD).

In comparison, the group of European socialists had 199 members and a group of conservatives (European People's Party) had 233 members. These were the largest and most influential in the parliament 1999-2004. - E Whittaker, Richmond.

ONCE again, MEPs have trotted out the old mantra: "It is vital for the prosperity of Britain that we work in co-operation with Europe".

I call on them to justify those words. What evidence do they have that Britain's economic prosperity depends on our membership of the EU?

I have never seen any justifiable case put forward in the past three decades, yet it was the reason given for both our original entry and the 1970s referendum we had about staying in the EEC (as it was then).

HM Treasury has conducted several researches over time and not one has concluded that EU membership positively benefits Britain's economy. Most say it makes little difference, one said it actually harmed our economy.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland all have very close trading links with the EU, and all have prospered and do prosper outside it - unhampered by dictatorial Brussels. - Derek Thornton, Crook.