04/12/02

Those whose memories go back long enough will readily recall the many Labour economic disasters since 1945. The Cripps fiasco led to the currency being devalued and the same thing happened again thereafter. Labour's economic disasters brought about the Macmillan Tory government when we 'never had it so good'. Then, under Wilson, the economy went pear-shaped once again. He blamed the 'Gnomes of Zurich' just like Gordon Brown is now blaming the rest of the world.

Then Labour borrowed to such an extent that the international community suspended all help unless certain strict financial measures were taken. There followed the 'Winter of Discontent' which saw Labour being trounced by Margaret Thatcher and for a decade the nation's economic health markedly improved.

It is a fact that when Tony Blair came to power the economy was on the up, so giving Gordon Brown a sound springboard when he became Chancellor.

Perhaps Simon Page needs to read up on the nation's economic history. He will then learn that since 1945 we have had more economic problems under Labour than under the Tories. - RK Bradley, Darlington.

BOOMS followed by recessions make up the history of capitalism.

The fact that lots of people don't read many serious (socio-economic) books amount to their own misfortune. Mind you, if more TV viewers watched (currently viewer ratings are around 1.5 million) Newsnight they'd be a sight better informed about world affairs.

Currently the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has got his sums a bit wrong. And this means borrowing a fair bit of money from the IMF.

Nevertheless, Mr Brown sees no occasion for economic alarm. Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?

Meanwhile, Britain's inflation figures are commendable. And our unemployment figures are the envy of the world. Mind you, this wouldn't be the case were wage claims to run wild. Why? This would guarantee, as well as speed up, a recession. - AH Lister, Guisborough.

NEW LABOUR

I FORECAST over four years ago that Tony Blair and his puppet type of government would destroy our once "Great Britain" and now the writing is on the wall.

He has flooded our country with thousands of asylum seekers who are costing taxpayers millions of pounds to keep to the detriment of our own people, and in our towns and cities they are causing great concern to our police.

Unless action is quickly taken to get rid of these people I can foresee some of our decent people taking the law into their own hands.

Our economy is now very much threatened by the billions of pounds to keep these people. This is on the back of Tony Blair's doing, and is now coming back to hound him.

I would just ask you all to look at the "cock-ups" ie the Dome, law and order, health service, railways, education plus the hundreds of "quangos" that are costing millions of pounds of taxpayers' money, and how can these puppet MPs have excess increases in their salaries?

I forecast that if people are daft enough to vote for a regional assembly it will be another fiasco. - F Wealands, Darlington.

THE UNIVERSE

WHAT a fascinating article by Nick Morrison discussing Professor Arnold Wolfendale's view of the Universe (Echo, Nov 27). It would be colossal arrogance on our part to assume that we are the only intelligent life in all this vast Universe.

It is impossible to contemplate it all with our finite minds. For instance: Halley's Comet, comes around about every 78 years, right on time. It is travelling at thousands of miles per second. Where on earth has it been?

It suggests a limitless intelligence, with marvellous precision.

The scientists talk of billions of galaxies, with millions of stars in a galaxy.

We have the spiritual and the physical world. I regard the physical as a school for the mind, which never dies. We may be regarded by people of other planets as semi-savages. They may be so advanced, our crudeness would damage them. Yet God guides the bees among the clover, writes the psalms, and the music, and makes you fall in love. - J Ross, Rowlands Gill.

BENEFIT PAYMENTS

IF 770,000 households are known not to claim the Minimum Income Guarantee to which they are entitled (Echo, Nov 20), why isn't the money just paid out? Why the necessity to put in a claim?

Pensioners should not be hassled and made to fill in forms to get money to which they are entitled. The very word entitled indicates that it is theirs by right.

Come on Pensions Department, if you know who these people are who are missing out, as you claim you do, give the money without making pensioners beg, which is what filling in forms to make a claim equates to in the minds of many. - EA Moralee, Billingham.