19/05/04

We therefore have both Labour and the Conservatives guilty of allowing the country to be dragged into a war with their decision based on lies, propaganda and misinformation. Now they must face the fact that American soldiers are using the defence which failed at Nuremberg: that they were "only following orders".

We are facing the almost inconceivable thought that British soldiers might also have committed war crimes.

I believe that, morally, this nation needs to show that we will not accept such actions. It is true that Saddam was an evil dictator but it is the responsibility of our leaders to ensure that we do not fight evil with evil. An honourable person would have already resigned as Prime Minister and called a general election, but Mr Blair has not done so.

It should also be noted that his Labour colleagues and the Conservatives who have supported him have blood on their hands. How many of them deserve to say that they represent their constituents?

Let us as ordinary people punish both those parties at the ballot box and vote for a party which has shown that it will stick to its principles, the Liberal Democrats. - Robert Adamson, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Darlington.

TONY BLAIR

IN December 2003 John Reid, the then Chairman of the Labour Party, forecast two events would take place in 2004.

He claimed that there would be a leadership contest to Iain Duncan Smith and that sections of the media would launch an attack on the Government. How right he was!

In view of the almost daily criticism in some newspapers, it is little wonder that Tony Blair's popularity has waned, but in my opinion he is the best Prime Minister in my lifetime.

I read (Echo, May 17) that Lord Radice had opened a new hospital in Chester-le-Street. I was aware of the new University Hospital in Durham but did not realise that six new hospitals have been built in the North-East since Labour came to power. The NHS has improved out of all recognition.

So, too, have education and the economy. I can remember when primary school classes had more than 30 pupils, when roofs leaked and parents had to buy books, when children were sent home because the central heating didn't work. I recall interest rates at 15 per cent and families having their houses repossessed. I can also recall more than three million people being unemployed. I remember the despair of young people looking for work.

Does anyone really want to return to those dark days? Things have really got better under Tony Blair. - Malcolm Pratt, Chester-le-Street.

EUROPE

I HAVE always had a gut feeling that it is a good idea in "the long run" for all the countries of continental Europe to get together in some ways.

And, having watched the voting behaviour of several European countries in the Eurovision Song Contest, I think "the long run" means just that.

Let's try to get together in 20 to 40 years' time when one hopes people have lost some prejudices and gained more kind-hearted wisdom.

In the meantime I think that "Brussels EC activity" should be moderated accordingly. - TR Glanvill, Danby Wiske.

VOTERS would do well to consider very seriously indeed about how they should vote in the coming European elections.

If only Tony Blair had stayed loyal to our European allies we would not be embroiled as we are now in Iraq.

For reasons which escape everyone except himself, Mr Blair decided to join President Bush in what is now a total fiasco.

The price of this monumental folly is yet to be paid.

We are inextricably linked to Europe and voters would do well to countenance the consequences of weakening our influence in Europe.

The economic situation would deteriorate while, politically, the major players in Europe, France and Germany, would simply not trust us.

So I urge voters to turn a deaf ear to the Tories who speak with a forked tongue.

They pander to latent nationalism, which is ultimately the downfall of those who choose this path.

We should look outwards to create a strong and prosperous Europe instead of casting our thoughts back to the days of the Empire, now totally discredited.

If only Mr Blair had remained true to his European beliefs, think of the thousands of lives that could have been saved, many of them completely innocent women and children.

The Liberal Democrats strongly favour closer ties with Europe, also they voted against the war in Iraq and it will be interesting to see how they fare. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

WE are told the proposed EU constitution is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Is this the same idyllic union of which some member countries' self-interest has seen them skirt round sanctions designed to bring tyrants like Saddam and Mugabe to some order?

Is this the same EU in which member states, with the possible omission of Britain, are in practice, not for the common good, but for maximising their own slice of the pie?

It is essential for anyone like myself who wants to see us co-operate with Europe on the lines we were led to believe the original EEC would, to make the effort to vote for one of the anti-EU candidates in the June elections. - J Heslop, Gainford.

PENSIONS

THE whole business of changing the way pensions are paid has been one of the biggest con tricks in years.

As quoted (Echo, May 12), the forms that have to be filled in and the complicated set of papers that are sent to be waded through before a pensioner can open a Post Office account were surely designed to deter applicants and force as many people as possible to have their pension paid directly into a bank account.

Now part two of the scheme has been revealed. Many Post Offices are to close. Low Grange, Billingham, is on the hit list. The many local people who use this branch are informed that, as from August, they will have to collect their pension from the town centre or from Wolviston, both well over a mile away.

Of course there is no offer of help for the elderly and infirm, or for anyone else for that matter, to pay for transport to collect their pension from the new venue.

Why should pensioners be inconvenienced and upset in this way? Far from improving service, this is making matters worse. - EA Moralee, Billingham.