The vexed question of race relations

This from a political party that has always undermined Britain and wants to send us headlong into being part of a European superstate.

So which part of British culture does he want people to learn?

Racial harmony throughout Britain was very good until political correctness forced through the Race Relations Act, and the Commission for Racial Equality forced us to believe we are all racist.

Mr Blunkett is patronising British ethnic groups, while providing money to keep the communities segregated. He is playing into the hands of the right-wing extremist.

However, the politically correct lobby has forced the British to hardly dare mention colour, for fear of being branded racists. It's almost at the point where we should be ashamed of being English.

Remove the politically correct idiots, bring down the walls, educate the ignorant dimwits and let's "love thy neighbour". - J Tague, Bishop Auckland.

WITH the release of the reports into the race riots in various Northern cities, there are suggestions that there be open and frank discussions about the causes, and solutions, to racism.

I totally agree with this. Nevertheless, how can we, as a nation, hold these discussions when freedom of speech is not allowed?

I abhor all that the extremists stand for, but if these talks are to take place we must strive to listen to all opinions without being called a racist or Nazi.

We have a multi-cultural society to be proud of and there are faults on all sides. However, the only way these faults will be allayed is through listening to each other and talking together. - Allan Britton, Darlington.

IT is in the interests of British emigrants to countries such as Canada and Australia to learn the culture of the people there.

Efforts to assimilate are welcomed, whereas thrusting the culture of where you came from is not appreciated at all.

In the UK, some immigrants are making little or no effort to understand us, our culture, our history and how we came to be the way we are.

We enjoy freedoms that don't exist in many of the countries immigrants come from. Those freedoms have been fought for every inch of the way,sometimes bitterly.

We are not going to have the negative aspects of other cultures thrust upon us, but those who strive to be 'good honest Britons' will always be welcomed.

Prejudice is a factor of life and it is futile to pretend that it isn't. We may not like the man next door just because he has values that are different to our own, but intelligent Britons do not allow such prejudices to escalate into strife.

Individualism is acceptable here, particularly benevolent eccentricity, but overt aggressive dress and behaviour is liable to breed resentment and hostility. - Maurice Jordan, Newton Aycliffe.

HUNTING

ALL life should be sacred, not just human life. Tony Blair's condemnation of terrorism should be extended to the aristocratic terrorists who butcher wild animals for pleasure.

In the name of mercy, he should honour his manifesto pledge about hunting with dogs. He says he finds blood sports thoroughly disgusting. Unfortunately, it doesn't show. - Aled Jones, Bridlington.

RAY MALLON

THE latest Cleveland Police outrage concerning DC Pennington (Echo, Dec 10) seems to indicate that the people of Teesside will stand for anything.

Ashok Kumar has been a lone voice with his protests. Justice would be seen to be done if Ray Mallon was promoted to Chief Constable. Then perhaps law and order would return to Cleveland. - James Sims, Easington.

TOBACCO SMUGGLING

WHILE larger retailers are taking heart from pre-Christmas sales figures, the situation facing independent retailers, like myself, is very different.

The Confederation of British Industry revealed recently that: "50 per cent of retailers reported sales during November were higher than a year ago."

What is overlooked, however, is the fact that numerous independent retailers, such as myself, continue to be hard hit as a direct result of the growth in tobacco smuggling, fuelled by the UK's high tobacco tax rates.

A recent survey by the Tobacco Alliance, representing 21,000 small independent shops across Britain, found that, last year, tobacco smuggling reduced the average retailer's annual sales by £60,000.

The backbone of communities up and down the country, corner shops, will continue to face a very uncertain future unless the Government brings UK tobacco tax rates into line with the rest of Europe.

This simple action would not only help preserve a key aspect of the British way of life, but would also prevent criminals from profiting from black market sales of tobacco. - Barrie Taylor, Spokesperson, Tobacco Alliance.

REGIONAL ECONOMY

I AM concerned about the threat of cheap labour in the Far East economy and the resulting loss of jobs in this year. I do not agree with the free market philosophy and the Government should consider measures to protect the home market.

With so many firms closing and jobs being lost in this region, I can understand why there is a call for a Northern Regional Assembly. The senior local politicians consider that a Northern Assembly would sharpen the image of this area, cut red tape and increase industrial investment. The only points that concern me is how much is it going to cost and how will it be paid for?

We read in The Northern Echo that large council tax increases will be levied next April and any further burden on council tax payers is unacceptable.

I would point out that central government could increase industrial investment to the North, where we have cheaper unit costs. It has the power to revise the outdated Barnett Formula to take into account the thousands of jobs this region has lost in mining, steel, shipbuilding, textiles and manufacturing.

We should also receive extra funding in education to match areas such as London. - Councillor Ben Ord, Chair, Spennymoor Liberal Democrats.

LAW AND ORDER

EVERYONE knows that our courts are being asked to handle an increasing volume of business, and the waiting list for trials almost equals that for NHS operations.

So the Home Office suggests we speed up the processes of law by abolishing the right to trial by jury in cases where the crime is trivial and let the judge alone deal with them.

But if you are innocent, there is no such thing as a trivial criminal charge. A wrongly-imposed fine or sentence of a few week's imprisonment will destroy a man's life as effectively as a much heavier penalty, for it is the guilty verdict not the punishment, that does the damage.

Hitherto, a man has had the right to ask that the evidence against him should be evaluated by 12 of his fellows, a right which existed more than 1,000 years ago, when England was still divided into petty kingdoms.

The judge proclaims the law, but in the end, the jury judges the facts.

If we have to choose between efficiency and our ancient rights, I think I know what most Englishmen would choose if they were given the chance. But of course they won't be, and one day they will wake up in a country appreciably less free than when this Government began its reign. - TJ Towers, Langley Park, Durham.