NORTHERN IRELAND

YOUR comment (Echo, Oct 2) suggests that the desperation to be seen to be doing something constructive in the wider world means nothing if the national and domestic problems are to be left on the sideline.

The problems in Northern Ireland have been ignored under the pretext of human rights and other sanctimonious issues. They have destroyed individuals, families and communities, who are crassly told time after time it is the price we have to pay.

One just has to see the crowd at the Labour Party Conference and hear their waffle to understand where their loyalties are.

They have as much interest in solving the Irish problem as they have of addressing the injustice and plights of many British people. They are an arrogant coterie of elitist pacifists, who would sell this country and destroy the very wellbeing of its citizens.

People are dying on the shores of these islands unnecessarily and violently because we lack the courage to stand up and be counted and we have a Parliament too arrogant to care. - John Young, Crook.

RAIL SAFETY

IN the aftermath of the Paddington railway crash, there have been further reports of drivers passing warning light signals.

One answer would be to install flashing light warning signals which could not fail to be noticed, and perhaps a stringent eyesight test for potential train drivers could be introduced. - GH Grieveson, Richmond.

CAR INSURANCE

MY son, who is 17, passed his driving test on the first attempt in June this year.

Then the problems began. Insurance. I have had the task of ringing around for insurance quotes, which have ranged anywhere from £1,200 to £2,300.

After many calls and many walls climbed, I finally found one which was reasonable, £1,500. Wonderful, set it up, all going very well until I tried to set up a standing order for him through my own bank account. Can't do it as he is only 17.

Where do we go from here? The insurers are well prepared to take the £1,500 in a lump sum (kind of them), but not a standing order for me to pay each month.

My thoughts are, how many mums and dads have had to go through this and no wonder so many young people are caught without insurance. It is about time the insurance companies pulled together and gave these kids a chance. After all, they have to start somewhere. - Linda Bennett, Darlington.

HEALTH SERVICE

JUST a letter in appreciation of the care and kindness shown to me during my stay in Ward 31 of Darlington Memorial Hospital by all the staff, from top to bottom. Nothing was too much trouble to help patients get better from their troubles.

I would also like to give a special appreciation to Dr Williams and his A team for their care and attention with my heart problems. - F Wealands, Darlington.

ZURBURAN PAINTINGS

E DOBSON of Bishop Auckland (HAS, Sept 25) says the 13 Zurburan paintings are part of our North-East heritage. How, may I ask?

How are paintings done by an obscure Spanish artist with not the remotest connections to the North-East part of our heritage?

Is it just because they've been here since the 1750s when Bishop Trevor bought them for the then princely sum of around £150? Because if so, I am as sure as I can be that there would have been a lot of starving kids around then, and the fact Bishop Trevor chose to spend his surplus cash not on them but on collecting daft portraits tells us all we need to know about him.

As it is, the few million the things are said to be worth on the international market would help a lot of disadvantaged children and young people of today. As a member of the YMCA, I put them first, as I am pretty sure do most people round here. - Tony Kelly, Crook.

I AM more than surprised at the remarks from Mr Jago as the representative to the General Synod of Churches (HAS, Oct 1).

Has he considered that it is not the lack of parishioners in churches, but the clergymen who have driven good people out of churches?

Mr Jago has not to wrack his brain too much to realise this is not very far from home. The town of Bishop Auckland has deteriorated greatly over the years and we have very little to attract people. Don't desecrate our best feature, the castle.

Dr McManners has fought valiantly to keep the history and interest of Bishop Auckland. We must remember the viaduct project and how he got everyone aware of its beauty and, of course, the benefit to Newton Cap Bank.

Please, people of Bishop Auckland and of Durham County, fight to save these paintings, so that they can stay in the place they were intended to be.

Everything these days is thought of in terms of monetary value. Let us think of things more lasting than money. Let us think of the beauty of such historical gifts left to us. - Ethel Hand, aged 81, Bishop Auckland.

NEW LABOUR

IN answer to those correspondents (HAS, Sept 28) wholeheartedly supportive of New Labour, may I put to them the following questions?

Are they satisfied with this dynamic young Prime Minister, brilliant Chancellor and excellent cabinet's handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis, a national disaster?

Are they content to see profit put before the general public interest in respect of public transport, health, education and the essential services with this Government's apparent obsession with private funding?

Do they consider the ever-widening gap between the richer and the poorer in our society, a class-ridden society, morally acceptable?

Yes, New Labour won the right to govern and what a victory, from a 25 per cent turnout of a disillusioned electorate. An electorate fed up to the back teeth with politics and self-interested politicians with their pie crust promises.

What manner of Government have we eventually ended up with, other than a more right wing motivated one than the Conservative government it deposed.

New Labour - New Tory more like. - AW Dunn, Spennymoor.

JOHN Simpson (HAS, Sept 28) will look in vain to find a true record of me stating that I had regrets about the Labour victory of 1997.

What I regret is what they failed to do with the majority and how they betrayed the hopes of people living in areas like the area I lived in and represented.

Unlike many who used the Party to "progress", I continued to live in the area I represented. My "reward" was that the electorate trusted and respected me and I had the pleasure of seeing any benefits that came their way.

With a 25 per cent vote, no one should be proud of the Government's achievements. It should be looking to find what is wrong, not looking for new ways of spin to con people. Can the New Labour fan club deny that the social and economic divisions between North and South are getting wider? That the school problem is worse than for over 25 years? That the PFI is producing fewer, not more, beds in hospitals?

I cannot canvas now, but our members report contempt where we used to have respect and a warm welcome on the doorstep.

More than misplaced loyalty is required to make the changes the ordinary people deserve. - W Nunn, Shildon.

PETER MULLEN

PETER Mullen (Echo, Oct 2) asserts that poor countries are poor because of the corruption and greed of their rulers. This may aggravate poverty in some cases, but the basic problem is the huge gap between rich and poor nations.

The assets of the three richest men exceed the gross national product of all 48 poorest countries and their 600 million people.

Ten million children die from starvation every year while the "civilised" world spends billions on armaments.

Aid does not even begin to compensate for the effects of restrictive trade practices and debt repayments and comes with ideological strings attached which exacerbate poverty - for example, forcing poverty-stricken governments to reduce spending on health and education, privatise public utilities or grow cash crops for export rather than food for local people.

Western nations have become excessively rich by raping and plundering weaker nations, first through colonisation and imperialism, now by controlling international trade and finance through the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank. These institutions are dominated by trans-national corporations and, until they are replaced by organisations which are democratically accountable to all citizens of this world, injustice will prevail and there will always be people desperate enough to risk their lives for the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table. - Pete Winstanley, Chester-le-Street.