12/04/04

I would also request that a petition should be raised to remove the criminality from the British statutes for traders using measures which the electorate of this land can understand.

The measures which they imposing by Act of Parliament are foreign to this land and cause confusion to the electorate. - Bill Craggs, Sunderland.

MEALS ON WHEELS

HERE we go again. Durham County Council, in its wisdom has once against shot itself in the foot. First of all, it decided to close some care homes, then gave computers to 60 councillors at a cost of £250,000 plus £100,000 per year for their upkeep.

Now it has had another brainwave to save more money once again at the expense of the pensioners by axing meals on wheels.

I wonder how the councillors feel about taking the food out of the mouths of those who cannot afford a good hot meal. - J Atkinson, Durham.

MEDIA SUPPORT

AS the two main parties believe that power cannot be won without support of a mass circulation publication that describes itself as a newspaper.

Why else would some senior politicians travel thousands of miles to virtually prostrate themselves before a media mogul?

Small wonder our representatives are held in contempt by a vast section of the electorate. - D Cook, Sacriston.

COUNCIL TAX

A BIG thank you for publishing the facts of the council tax (Echo, Mar 27).

Once again the Government and the local authority have tried to evade the truth of the real rises. John Prescott and his local government minister have again broken their promise to cap the councils which increase the tax by double or almost double figures.

Darlington Borough Council has quoted a 9.7 per cent rise. To quote Gordon Brown's favourite phrase "in real terms", I am now paying exactly ten per cent more council tax each month.

John Williams, the Darlington Council leader, and his colleagues must be delighted at hammering Darlington council tax payers once again, knowing that rate capping will just not happen.

This year pensions are rising by just 2.8 per cent. I wonder if our local council members will limit their allowance increase to this figure, or will that be 9.7 to ten per cent.

So while our streets are still littered with pizza packages and dog dirt, the taxpayers dig deeper into their pockets while our leaders laugh up their sleeves. I wonder if they will be laughing after the next national and local elections? I hope not. - Norman Horton, Darlington.

THE overall 1994-5 D Band council tax bill for Spennymoor was £642.02. This has increased to £1,392,78 for the year 2004-5.

Durham County Council's 1994-5 levy was £459.81, in 2004-5 it will be £884.16.

The Sedgefield Borough D band council tax element for 1994-5 was £74.36. The 2004-5 levy was set at £170.44 (a 129 per cent increase over ten year period).

Only the Liberal Democrats voted against this year's 5.6 per cent increase which was double inflation.

Under the best value criteria, councils should enforce efficiency savings. Many local council tax payers have recently lost their jobs or are receiving below inflation wage rises at a time when council tax bills are soaring.

Our pensioners received a mere 2.6 per cent increase last year when the average council tax increase in England was up 13 per cent. A large proportion of their pensions goes on paying their council tax bills.

I support the Liberal Democrat's Local Income Tax petition which is based on a person's ability to pay and would help the pensioners.

We also need more industrial investment to replace the thousands of manufacturing jobs lost. The Barnett Formula is unfair and needs updating. - Councillor Ben Ord, Spennymoor, Sedgefield Borough Council.

EUROPE

IN the last century this country has fought two world wars, losing thousands of lives so that we could still govern ourselves.

This Government is going to sign away our heritage to foreign powers without a bullet being fired. - M Metcalfe, Darlington.

DARLINGTON FC

THE Reynolds Arena is the best thing we have. I think the Lotto should help because we put the money in to buy the ticket.

The National Lottery gives millions of pounds of public money away. So why not help the club to keep it going?

George Reynolds has put all his money in and made it a proud football club. This stadium is a big one, and it could be used for other things, that's if the council would use some of its money which it takes from the public in their council tax bill. - S. Taylor, Darlington.

INTERNATIONAL POLICY

PETE Winstanley (HAS, Apr 3) lists a one-sided view of Western civilisations, much of it debatable.

For instance, World War Two involved the Japanese invasion of China, among other countries. They also tried to invade India via Burma.

What about another area of pollution, ie the Asian brown haze? Not a mention of this, nor a mention of the countries reduced to starvation by communist rule - Zimbabwe, North Korea, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, which has been in receipt of much of the aid to Africa given by the West and is again asking for aid. Its Marxist government saw fit to fight two expensive wars while its people starved.

What about the holy wars fought by the Muslim invaders of the 157 countries now under their rule, not to mention the two attempted invasions of Europe, one in the seventh century, the other in the 15th? - G Gilligan, Witton Park.

ROADWORKS

HOW often do we see roads dug up on a Friday afternoon and then nothing happens until the following Monday, or if it is a Bank Holiday until Tuesday?

There are many jobs that have to provide a service for 24 hours a day for seven days a week such as electricity, fire brigades, police etc so is it not time that road working companies should also be on a 24/7 hour system? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.