26/04/04

I fear I may hold a minority opinion, as the leadership continues to shoot itself in the foot, with an apathetic public beginning to stir towards hostility.

The continued removal of local community services, almost weekly, now has the announcement that 32 playgrounds "may" shut, added to the list. Given the lack of backbone shown by elected members, it can be considered a done deal.

Through bad practice and lack of maintenance, coupled with downright stupid decisions to install very ambitious pieces of equipment, totally unsupervised, in certain areas, has again led to the wider general public losing a valuable community resource. The public pays, literally, for the incompetence of the leadership at Crook.

Despite being a Bishop lad through and through, having lived in many parts of Britain, I can honestly say that I have never felt so badly represented and angry. The public simply deserves better, and should demand it. They are our servants, not and never our masters. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

MEALS ON WHEELS

IT would seem that County Councillor Christine Smith (HAS, Apr 20) would have thrived in the 1700s when the French peasants starved and the quote "let them eat cake" was supposed to have originated. Substitute state benefits for the quote and she lives in the wrong era.

Since Tony Blair and his New Labour have arrived on the scene, councillors feel that they are not accountable to the voters any more, more the other way round.

The state benefits she says are available are only available to those that stand up to intense means testing and people like me who worked all their lives and expected a living pension on retirement are expected to go cap in hand to receive what they worked for by right.

This year my pension went up £3.92, the council took all of it plus 30p from last year's pension to cover rent, poll tax and the increase in water rates, and Councillor Smith's solution is try and claim benefits to live, thank you no.

I hope there are a lot of new independent faces in the coming local elections so all those who smugly look down from well-paid, do-nothing jobs can get chased. - Peter Dolan, Newton Aycliffe.

EUROPE

TOM Blenkinsop (HAS, Apr 20) has got his facts seriously distorted, both on his views of Sir Winston Churchill and of the UK Independence Party.

Firstly, although Sir Winston Churchill advocated the integration of Europe into a political union, he saw the UK's position as being outside of this, retaining our close links with the Commonwealth and the United States. He said: "But we have our own dream and our own task. We are with Europe, but not of it. We are linked but not combined. We are interested and associated but not absorbed."

Secondly, the UK Independence Party is not "anti-European" or "isolationist". The UK is a global nation. We have £1.9 trillion invested across the world. We are the single largest foreign investor in the US and vice versa. We are an important member of the UN Security Council and NATO. We want friendship and trade with our European neighbours, but not political and judicial domination in the form of the EU.

With the announcement of a referendum on the EU Constitution, we can expect many more incorrect assertions from those in favour of EU integration, such as those presented by Mr Blenkinsop. - Jamie Mash, UK Independence Party, Northallerton.

WITH the advent of May 1, and the enlargement of the EU, many people are worried that this country will be overwhelmed by citizens from other European nations.

Indeed the Estonian Foreign Minister stated that as Estonia has a higher growth rate, lower taxation and a train service that runs on time they are worried that many Britons will seek residence and employment in their country!

At present UK citizens do not require visas to visit Estonia - is this about to change?

Perhaps we should worry less about immigration and more about how we can attract skilled people from other parts of Europe to help us fill the very real skills gap we have in the UK. - David Abrahams, Newcastle.

I WELCOME the spectacular U-turn in policy by Tony Blair on the question of a referendum on the new European constitution.

The constitution creates a European president, a foreign minister, a diplomatic corps, a legal system and an army. It would fundamentally alter the relationship between Britain and Europe and mark a shift in power from Westminster to Brussels. It is only right that the British people should have their say.

I would like to particularly thank the thousands of people from across the North-East who have signed my petition and supported the referendum campaign I have been running over the past few months.

I will be continuing in my efforts to ensure that the referendum is held as early as possible and not kicked into the long grass by Tony Blair - it is time to let the people decide on this crucial matter. - Martin Callanan MEP, North-East, Conservative.

Darlington FC

THE fundraiser at Darlington Stadium on Sunday was postponed due to lack of interest within Darlington.

This is a crying shame. It is about time the people of Darlington and surrounding areas pull together and support the club that will not exist if we do not.

Darlington FC has been part of the North-East for 120 years. If people do not turn up to support the club it will fold, simple as that.

Every ticket that is sold for a home game will provide important money for the future of DFC. Money will go to sustain the long term future of the club.

We must have support, otherwise you won't have the chance in the future. It is vital that people attend the games.

Surely you want to give your children the chance to enjoy local football? Attendances currently average between 4,000-4,500, we must get 6,000 so that the football club is not running at a loss.

Please turn out in force to the Swansea match on May 1 and any fundraising matches after that. - Dave Adamson, Bishop Auckland.