CONSERVATIVE PARTY: I thought the Tories could not sink much further than they did prior to 1997, but I was wrong.

One delegate at the party conference asked the assembled Tories to give three cheers for Tony Martin, a convicted killer, and they responded in a manner becoming the Christian Tory Party with resounding cheers.

Together with their 'fanciful' policy initiatives, they seem to have lost the plot altogether.

Heaven help us when we see a 'Sheriff of Darlington' and people going around with passports for this and vouchers for that.

Life is complicated enough without this Tory nonsense.

The Government, having committed vastly increased sums for the NHS and education, is finding it hard enough to balance the books.

Indeed it is likely to have a sizeable budget deficit over the next few years.

These wild and irresponsible promises by the Tories can only end in disaster. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

FOOTBALL PLAYERS

ISN'T it about time people realised that the pampered playboys of the Premiership couldn't care less about what happens to our national team, or even their own club.

All they care about is their fat bank balance. They certainly don't care about the fans who turn out every week, no matter what. Don't feel sorry for them, they're not bothered about us. - S Lyle, Crook.

CHILDREN'S MENU

MY name is Kathryn Boyd and I am nine years old. I am getting bored of children's menus in cafs, shops and restaurants.

The choices are sausages, chicken nuggets and fish fingers with chips. It's not fair. Little children like it, but I am bored with things like that.

I don't want things that I have at parties and when my friends come round for tea. It does not encourage children to try more things.

If cafs etc don't want to change their children's menus, then make a menu for seven-12 year olds.

Some places don't even have a children's menu. Please consider us kids.- Kathryn Boyd, Darlington.

ISLAM

IN letters to this newspaper, I have referred to the Saudi autocracy as corrupt and oppressive. This does not mean that I am anti-Islam.

On the contrary, I have often declared my respect for Islam, and my opposition to racism and religious intolerance of all kinds. This is "prejudice and humbug" according to Peter Mullen (Echo, Oct 7).

If Peter Mullen did not confuse Islam with the politics of Islamic extremism, perhaps he would not interpret discussion and criticism of certain aspects of Christian practice and belief as anti-Christian.

If he is interested in promoting social justice and religious tolerance in Muslim countries, perhaps he should advocate that the West should cease supporting and arming regimes which act entirely contrary to the spirit and teachings of the Koran, and yet justify their oppressions in the name of Islam. - Pete Winstanley, Durham.

EUROPE

HUMAN organisations should have due regard for the integrity of everyone. Recognising that everyone is less than perfect, it is clear that the organisations we create will be less than perfect.

Those who can recall the political situations that existed in Europe pre-1945 are very clear that they were imperfect, subjecting many millions to degradation and death at worst, and stressful disruption at best. Such people as Jean Claude Monnet and Maurice Schuman determined that the systems in a future Europe would not result in such an inhuman state of affairs. The political machinery that they started to build grew into the European Union. It is not perfect but the basic aim of the founders is the same today as it was then and has led to the longest ever period of peace in Europe.

Over the years the political machinery has grown through a series of treaties. The enlargement of the Union creates the ideal opportunity to bring all the treaties into one document, making what is in them transparent.

Study of the proposed European Constitution reveals that the importance of national parliaments is enhanced, that decisions should be made as near to those they affect and procedures are more transparent.

Those who knock the proposal without presenting reasoned arguments would do well to study the 59 articles and the amendments before they make a final judgement. - Bill Morehead, Darlington.

COUNCIL TAX

COUNCIL tax bills went up substantially this year. It is no surprise that the Government is thinking of capping the increases councils can impose, and now authorities can apply to limit the increase for pensioners.

Though I am a pensioner, I do not want my council tax to be subsidised by others in the community. I also want local councils to be able to raise the revenue they need.

I think that before long some services now partly paid for out of council tax will be taken away from local government.

Of course if that happens, the grant settlement local councils will receive will be reduced. So there needs to be another solution.

I cannot think of a more equitable solution than a local income tax proposed by the Liberal Democrats.

It is a problem the Government would be unwise to put on the back burner. - Geoffrey Bulmer, Billingham.