Hear All Sides

Just a few weeks after the Tory Party conference their hypocritical followers are acting true to form.

This same lot are now stabbing IDS in the back, even his political hero Margaret Thatcher is wanting him out, along with the treacherous Michael Portillo, sly Ken Clarke and smirky David Davis, waiting in the wings.

IDS' words 'Unite or Die'. Well the Tories will never be united and they have already died a death.

I am afraid the quiet man's time has come to an end, and very soon one of his traitorous friends will be leading this pathetic political party. - JL Thompson, Crook.

LAW AND ORDER

REGARDING the recent reports on the increase in 'stop and search' amongst black communities, the accusation of police racism from some members of those communities does not hold up as a defence against common sense.

If, as a chief constable with limited resources, you are faced with identifiable groups of people representing only ten per cent of the total community being responsible for 65 per cent of the street crime - as in London - you would concentrate your efforts on that group, whether its criminal element was black, white or green.

These days stating the obvious has become unpopular. As a consequence the politicians and the media are all too willing to side-step common sense issues for which there is often a blindingly obvious answer in order to appease the perceived need for political correctness. - Chris Greenwell, Aycliffe Village.

POSH v POSH

HOW much money will the Beckhams and Peterborough United spend before their expensive lawyers finally inform them that since 'posh' is a commonly-used word it cannot under national or international copyright and trademark laws be copyrighted or registered as a trademark? - HE Smith, Spennymoor.

RELIGION

JOHN Young (Echo, Nov 11) needs not go very far to see the Church of England and the Methodist Church in action, doing exactly what he suggests.

The Ecumenical Church, on Woodhouse Close estate in Bishop Auckland, organises many activities aimed at helping the locally disadvantaged, ranging from a thrift shop, meals on wheels, clubs of various kinds and, most notably, a non profit-making furniture scheme.

These activities, coupled with a loving and caring congregation led by a vicar who is acutely aware of the needs of local people, make for a church which really acts on Jesus' instruction to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. - Teresa A Sutton, Bishop Auckland.

EUROPE

ROBIN Ashby (HAS, Nov 11) continues to confuse people who are opposed to the European Union by branding them anti-Europeans.

For the record, I love Europe and Europeans, but I despise the corrupt, profligate bureaucracy which is an affront to democracy, called the EU.

Do you believe that when we either withdraw from the EU or are asked to leave, Mercedes, BMW, Renault, VW, Citroen, Audi will not sell us any more cars, the Belgians would keep their chocolates for themselves and the French would be precious with their wine.

And when we do withdraw, perhaps we will then negotiate the trading agreement that those lying, duplicitous politicians told us was all we were getting in the first place. - Neil Herron, Sunderland.

MARTIN Jones (HAS, Nov 7) said only by joining the euro could we secure manufacturing jobs and bring in investment and that the strength of our economy would stabilise the euro and bring joy to our world.

I presume this man reads the economic pages of the Beano.

The strength of our pound makes entry into the euro impossible. It would need to be devalued before joining the euro to make economic sense.

Jobs are leaking out of Britain because employers can find cheap labour in other parts of the world to increase profit margins. This applies to service industry jobs as well as manufacturing.

We are in a global economy so perhaps we should have a global currency to match it, but you can be sure even then the bosses will take the work to where they can get the cheapest labour. Joining the euro will not do anything for the ordinary person. It will not close the gap between rich and poor that is ever widening and it will not stop the work going from these shores.

What strength we have lies in our financial services and these will begin to feel the pinch soon despite the dogged refusal to adjust the interest rates which makes our pound so strong and our goods so dear.

The euro is not the answer to our problems. What we need is for someone to re-invent the fiscal wheel. - DF Preston, Darlington.

THE pro-Europe club forecasts doom and gloom if we do not join. On what does it base this?

There is high unemployment in France and Germany and getting worse. This is not a good club to join. - B Robson, Darlington.

PUB HOURS

I PITY those people who live in the vicinity of pubs and the places that drinkers frequent when 24-hour pub opening begins.

I am not convinced by the argument that drinkers will not binge drink. Those who do it enjoy it, along with the whole culture that has enveloped all town and city centres. That means that the loutish behaviour, the rowdiness, the vandalism and the violence will continue, but for longer.

This move is another example of a capitulation by the Government to a social problem that it has been unable to defeat.

Whilst local residents face the trouble alone, our brave 'generals' will be well away from the front line. - D Brearley, Middlesbrough.