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GROWING OLD

AS you become older, the norm seems to shift considerably. I see pot-bellied men in their fifties, walking down the street in a football strip. Fifty years ago that would have seemed barmy. You see footballers clapping the spectators. It is the players who put on the show. Why clap the audience? When Mrs Thatcher came North to Teesside in 1986 for her "walk in the wilderness", all the people, engineers, architects, councillors were wearing crash helmets. Why? An air raid? Irreverent pigeons, perhaps? When they give out the winners at the Bafta awards, or the Oscars, or Emmys, the chairman will announce: "And the winner is ..." If it is a lady, she will stand up, astounded, and place her hands over her mouth. Why they do that? Young men have always had strange haircuts but now they look as if they have been pulled upwards through a glue factory. The funniest thing today is watching a footballer score a goal. He scores, and runs away, taking his shirt off! Whatever for? And those Spice Girls. With all their money, wouldn't you think they could afford a comb?

- J Ross, Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

CHRIS Lloyd's piece (Echo, Nov 10) on a North-East assembly's possible powers begs the question where will those powers come from? From within or by imposition from Whitehall? I fear the latter. Downing Street has leaned on, if not blatantly interfered with, the Welsh and Scottish Assemblies. These bodies may have some autonomy but when it comes to leadership, Blair wields influence. Otherwise, it's ridiculous that, only recently, Darlington won the battle for freedom from Durham County Council and now could lose control of key areas, or have its own powers emasculated, by an even more powerful body. This, elected by proportional representation, will have a majority elected from the most populous areas, so the south of the region will largely be ruled by the north and the east. Many aspects of this proposal, including raising revenue, must be put clearly and honestly in a referendum which should require that the result would be invalid if less than 50 per cent of the electorate votes. My fear is that Whitehall and locals wanting more power for themselves will covertly manipulate the whole thing for their own ends.

- RK Bradley, Darlington.

IMMIGRATION

THE Office for National Statistics forecast that the UK population will rise from 59.8 million in 2000 to 65 million in 2025, and that the number of immigrants will be 135,000 a year - higher than the estimates of 95,000 made three years ago. These levels are unsustainable for we have virtually no national resources apart from our brains. Our industry has been sent to Third World countries as the direct result of the stupidity of the trades unions and incompetent British management. Behind this lies the evil hand of international capitalism. We must now fight for our very lives and existence as a nation which now, thanks to the traitor Mr Blair, is threatened with destruction. Mr Blair and his colleagues must be driven out of office. The Tories are useless and the Liberals even more traitorous than Labour. We need urgently an English Nationalist movement if this nation is to be saved from destruction.

- J Laurence, Middle Herrington, Sunderland.

VANDALISM

EVERY time we read a newspaper nowadays there is always a report about vandalism. These people know that they are unlikely to get caught because of the lack of police on the beat. Trying to get hold of the police nowadays is as good as trying to win the Lottery and they very seldom act on vandalism because the perpetrators need to be caught red-handed. Come on David Blunkett, where are all these police officers we were promised?

- T Amos, Colburn, N Yorkshire.

POLITICS

AS USUAL Jim Tague (HAS, Nov 13) gets his facts wrong. He said: "Since when has the Labour Party been worried about working-class jobs?" He has conveniently forgotten to mention engineering, shipbuilding, pits, hospital ward closures and thousands more jobs lost under his beloved Tory Party which created the biggest unemployment figures ever. The Labour Party allows the working class the dignity of being able to be a member of a trade union - Tories would abolish this right. The New Deal which benefits our young people was opposed by the Tories. The Tories' trademark is a class-ridden society that only promotes fat cats, fox hunting, hereditary peers and the gentry. The Thatcherite era and 18 years of Tory rule and bigotry will never be forgotten by the working class which was degraded and humiliated. If they are given power again would do exactly the same.

- JL Thompson, Crook.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

THE CASE of the 65-year-old sex killer Brian Field (Echo, Nov 16) and the study by the police of other similar cases is a step in the right direction. But there must be a better understanding of what seems to be the police's lack of commitment in the past and their failure to catch such vile individuals. The fact that DNA finally caught this man must suggest a wider use of such technology. If that means that the population has to be screened, then surely it is in the interest of our children to do so. There is also the question of capital punishment. Brian Field is an individual who has no right to any leniency and ought to face that which he sought to deny his victims. If DNA can conclusively prove guilt, then there are no chances of a miscarriage of judgement when murderers are put to death. Brian Field and others like him should be given the absolute punishment. -

John Young, Crook.