29/01/04

The blame for the present political fiddle must be down to our local Scottish Member of Parliament who made sure his own country would not suffer under devolution - the Barnett Formula - and Scottish MPs would be allowed to bail him out of any tight spots, eg top-up fees.

How hypocritical can you get: voting for and against the same problems depending on the country involved?

How on earth have we allowed our country to be governed by Scotland? Most of the top positions are given to Scots only interested in their own power and jobs for their own countrymen.

Finally, whatever has a certain Mr McCartney done to be given the chairmanship of the English Labour Party? Was he elected and by whom? - FR McCormack, Newton Aycliffe.

TRAFFIC LAWS

I HAVE a theory of what happened to Nasa's Spirit Rover. I believe the over-zealous police officer who caught hundreds of motorists in a matter of hours has sent Rover a speeding ticket and left it gobsmacked. This will account for its couple of days of silence.

He probably did the same with Beagle, but its driver, a little green man, refused to pay so is now serving a prison sentence.

On a more serious note, it goes to show that if enough people stamp their feet, with the help of the media they will be listened to, because David Blunkett has decided to review the speeding laws which ban drivers from the road after receiving 12 penalty points.

This is to change to two points for speeding offences instead of the normal three.

Even so, I am still trying to fathom out if this is to benefit drivers or the Government, because another £120 per motorist will certainly be gratefully accepted by the Government.

Perhaps, if they reduce the fine at the same time as changing the points system, motorists may at some time think that the Government and police are not doing it solely for the money. - A McKimm, Crook.

IT will come as no surprise to many of your readers to hear of concern over the increasing use of fog lights in clear weather conditions.

This is an offence under the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations (Sec 25 and 27) and incurs a fixed penalty of £30.

The reason for this regulation is to prevent dazzling oncoming other road users and not obscure rear brake lights when activated.

Many drivers will be oblivious to this regulation, others show a juvenile mind in using as many lights as possible to draw attention to their vehicle's many features and make.

Fines are being imposed in many areas, but in others the police appear to ignore this offence.

We seldom see a police officer in uniform on the streets in this area, so this may account for the increasing misuse of these lights.

If Government departments are short of money, why are the police ignoring this source of revenue, or are speed cameras an easier option? - AS Frank, Whitby.

DIET

COULD the food/health police please get off our backs? If I choose to eat unhealthy food and drink unhealthy drinks then I shall do so and who are they to deny me?

It is no business of theirs if I die before my time. At least I shall die reasonably happy and not, as at present, worried sick about every morsel I eat.

Over the last several years I have tried my best not to have an unhealthy diet and it has made me as miserable as sin.

And then hardly a week goes by without us being told that something previously thought healthy is now unhealthy and vice versa.

The food freaks even change their minds about the same things being healthy or unhealthy with alarming regularity. Why in the world should we believe them on that sort of basis?

And so, as from now, I shall eat and drink what I want, live my life as I wish, forget about worrying and to hell with those who say differently. - Ken Orton, Ferryhill Station.

EUROPE

WHATEVER is happening in this, our country? Every week we close down old people's homes, we are closing down schools for our disabled children. We don't even have enough money to give our children a college education.

We tell them to get into thousands of pounds of debt.

If we want more police on the streets there is no money for it, so where is the money going?

If this country is too poor to look after its own people, then it must mean that we are giving too much money to Europe.

We were taken into Europe on lies and we are being kept in on more lies.

It is time we came out of Europe. After all charity begins at home. - A Parkin, Bishop Auckland.

Darlington FOOTBALL CLUB

GAZZA showed he's still got it when he played in the celebrity game at Darlington.

Would local businesses be willing to pay his wages to enable him to play for us if he is willing?

This would do the club no end of good, benefitting from his obvious skills and also as a crowd puller, and also give the local businesses great publicity. - Colin Hudson, Leeds.

ALTHOUGH I no longer live in Darlington, I still like to see the football club do well. I know that the club is in a bad way, but part of the problem must lie with the borough council.

Why will it not see that Darlington not only needs a football club but also deserves one.

We now live in the 21st century and some of the things George Reynolds wanted to do - car boot sales or perhaps using the arena for concerts or other activities - would increase revenue into the town. - Jacqueline Barratt, Ferryhill.

IN his letter (HAS, Jan 28) the Chair of the Darlington Labour Party misses the point of my original letter.

We are pleased that the Labour Group supported the request for car boot sales to be held at the Reynolds Arena, but the point is: will John Williams, the council leader, look favourably on any future requests for non-footballing uses for the arena (such as pop concerts, for example)?

A few hundred people at a car boot sale won't raise the money needed. Is the council prepared to see big events there? On this question we know the Conservatives will say no, but from the Labour Party, so far, we hear only silence. - Mike Barker, Chair, Darlington Liberal Democrats.