30/10/03

The Tory Party has always supported "blood-sports". I never thought their leader would become the "quarry".

IDS (I Don't Succeed) has two possible fates. The kindest is that he returns to the backbenches. The cruel (and Labour) wanted him to win the vote and become "the living dead" between now and the next General Election.

If I wanted the Tories to win the next election, I would want Ken Clarke as leader, Michael Portillo as deputy leader and Ann Widdecombe as Shadow Home Secretary. They would be a deadly combination of talent, experience, charisma and humour. Mega-stars amongst mediocrities.

It won't happen because the Tory Party is too old and out of touch to realise that it has to choose leaders that appeal to the public to win power.

Perhaps it's about time Labour had a new leader too! Now Gordon Brown for example... - Stuart Hill, Darlington.

Teesside AIRPORT

HAVING worked at Teesside Airport during the 1970s and 1980s, I have been watching with great interest the proposed developments.

There are a number of questions that come to mind, not least why the airport was sold off on the cheap while the Government was conducting an inquiry into the future of air travel?

It is true that the development of the airport, along with Tees ports and road/rail links to the rest of the country, is crucial for the future prosperity of the whole of the North-East.

What is on offer will not make the airport a global competitor or entice major manufacturers to this region. It will simply make Teesside one of a dozen or so regional airports that offer cheap one-way flights.

If the region really wants to become a major base for manufacturers, it needs a 'hub' airport with real transatlantic, Eastern Europe, Asian and Australian connections. It would also need to be connected to the rest of the country by a modern rail terminal.

The Government is planning to spend billions increasing capacity at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. What Teesside needs is a major airline, with all due respect to BMI, to come on board; and it needs a big change of attitude from both the Government and the airline industries.

Teesside Airport has been in every flight schedule book since it first opened in the 1960s so people know where it is, they just can't fly direct to it.

Jumbos have landed at Teesside, and Concorde has visited twice, but as The Northern Echo noted, Concorde's farewell tour went to Heathrow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh. The message from London is that this region no longer exists.

It's time we made our voices heard loud and clear and not simply whisper about our plight.

The Scots and Welsh have Barnett, what investment is this Government going to give our region that will reverse the neglect of the last 30 years? If this redevelopment is an example then I fear it will not be enough. - David F Preston, Darlington.

IN CASE no one has thought of it before, may I suggest a possible new name for the airport which links Darlington and Stockton and reflects our transportation engineering history: George Stephenson. - Brian Campbell, Middlesbrough.

DARLINGTON

ONE of the major problems in Harris Street, Darlington, is that there is not an official, properly marked out bus stop.

At present, the service 20 drops off passengers as it enters Harris Street. It would be better if it dropped people off in Geneva Road.

Morning and afternoon, Harris Street is usually congested with parked cars using the church and school. - C Christie, Darlington.

Saltburn

THE Saltburn in Bloom Committee would like to thank everyone who supported us over the summer months. In the Northumbria in Bloom competition we won the coastal resort category and in the national Britain in Bloom competition we won a bronze award in the small coastal town category.

We would like to thank: The National Probation Service Teesside, Enhanced Community Punishment Department, for all its practical support: Redcar and Cleveland College, for re-furbishing the miniature pier and other help, Middlesbrough College, for assistance with producing a town video, John Wilby, manger of Somerfield, for allowing the use of his store for fund raising, Terminus for providing photocopying, and Mel Spedding of Mitchell and Struthers.

This year has been a real problem with poisoned baskets and Saltburn has only done so well due to the help and support of so many people. Thank you to all of you. - Jackie Taylor, Co-ordinator, Saltburn in Bloom.

CONCORDE

IF THE Americans had built Concorde it would have been promoted as the best thing since fried bread.

Since government funded most of the research and development for Concorde, I think British Airways should be encouraged to sell the plane to Richard Branson.

It still has leading edge technology, and should not be abandoned. This is the next step in air travel and we will get cleaner fuels soon. - FM Atkinson.

PENSION LINE

DT Murray (HAS, Oct 25) shouldn't believe everything he or she reads in the national press. The Pension Credit Application Line is not in chaos. In fact it has taken over one million calls, and 94 per cent of those were answered within 30 seconds.

The call centres are neither understaffed nor staffed with people who "cannot even spell or add up". Their identities are checked before they start work on the telephones, and credit checks and certain other checks for previous criminal activity are also run on them.

It is true that our telephone agents have to ask callers a number of questions about their financial situation, but all are trained to do this in a polite, helpful way, explaining the procedure as they go along.

Yes, we too believe that older people deserve respect. - Andy Collins, Pension Service, Newcastle.

RESPECT

CHRISTEN Pears reports that the Duchess of Kent treated her staff in a more friendly manner than was traditional (Echo, Oct 28). Recent events seem to suggest that this practice is to be avoided at all costs. - JW Davison, Ferryhill.

RACISM

I SUGGEST to P Morrison (HAS, Oct 28) that it is racism, rather than multiculturalism, which causes conflict between different ethnic groups.

Incidentally, the 2001 census shows that the population of Leicester is 65 per cent white British and 30 per cent Asian British. Overall, just four per cent of the British population is of Asian origin. - Pete Winstanley, Durham.