05/11/05

The Gulf states, such as Dubai, have proportionally large migrant or expatriate populations, but seem in no rush to give them passports. Nor are they intending to achieve pro rata representation for them in their civil service or police.

There it still appears a legitimate aspiration to remain in control of their own country.

They don't feel obliged to embrace the joy of identity change.

If David Blunkett was a tough Home Secretary then God help us if we ever get a soft one.

With the Conservatives preparing to select a leader with nothing to offer but compassion, we could hardly be any worse off even with a Lib-Dem government. - John Riseley, Harrogate.

RAIL WORRIES: MY daughter recently travelled from Oxford to Darlington using Virgin trains. The train was late, badly overcrowded and without working toilets.

Her return trip, again without working toilets, saw the train even more overcrowded. No new passengers were allowed to board at Birmingham and my daughter physically struggled to get off at Oxford.

Both journeys were nothing short of five hours of misery for the customers of Virgin Rail and I would like to raise the following issues:

With such a level of overcrowding even a minor rail accident could have resulted in serious consequences, ie how would passengers be able to vacate the train?

In this country we have legislation that attempts to look after the welfare of animals being transported. It would appear that we need similar legislation to give some basic comforts to rail passengers.

Finally, our politicians tell us we should make more use of public transport. On this evidence they are wasting their breath and our time. - Martin Birtle, Billingham.

SMOKING BAN: SMOKERS have been systematically disenfranchised and excluded from Parliament to council chambers and from community centres to buses and trains.

And a 25-a-day smoker pays 50 per cent more than the average person pays income tax. It is wrong to exclude smokers from the pubs as it is the last place where such people can comfortably socialise.

It is wrong to prohibit consenting adults from meeting together to smoke.

It is wrong for the Government to spend our money (through its mouthpiece the BBC and its agents the NHS) on state sponsored hatred of smokers.

It is wrong that the Government should demand that people stop smoking, yet spend so little on research.

The propaganda link between smoking and lung cancer is a malicious over-simplification and history will show it to be a false premise. Polls show that 80 per cent of people do not want smoking to be prohibited.

Let us instead learn to live together and find out what really causes disease.

Lastly, if reason cannot compete with the "big lie" then I ask you to show compassion for those people who are addicted to tobacco, especially those whose government encouraged them to smoke in their youth. - LG Edgar, Great Lumley.

WORK-SHY?: AS a regular visitor to Darlington, I have seen the havoc the council has made of your town centre and bus routes with their enforced road closures and pedestrianisation.

I have read in this column many letters from unhappy residents and listened to the hot air the councillors have come up with in their defence. Adding to this I ask one simple question.

It has been weeks now of pandemonium and I have yet to see a road dug up in anger.

When is the work going to begin and why have we endured weeks of misery before it does?

Has the council forgotten to order a skip? - Joe Wellthorpe, North Ormesby.

SECRET DEBTS: BRITAIN is in the red and the problem is growing. Personal debt in the UK topped £1 trillion in July 2004 and every four minutes it's rocketing by another million.

And it's not just confined to people on low incomes. Debt is fast becoming a middle class disease that's spreading like gangrene.

Call volumes to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service went up 30 per cent in 2004 and are predicted to rise by 50 per cent this year.

More interesting still is the fact that women often have no idea about their partner's spending until it's too late.

Independent television company Ricochet is developing a new series exploring this phenomenon of secret middleclass debt.

We want people over 30, who are keeping their debts hidden from their partners or families, to contact them with their stories.

Successful applicants will be offered the opportunity to clear their debts through top financial advice from Ricochet's presenterexpert and the chance to help others in a similar situation by sharing their experiences with debt on-screen. - contact Liz at Ricochet on 01273 224 800 or email debt@ricochet. co. uk.

DANGERS OF FIREWORKS: FIREWORKS are still being misused and abused all over the country.

In Darlington an 81-year-old widow had to flee her house, after a firework that was put through her letter box set fire to her curtains, carpet and wallpaper.

And there is the case of the little dog that a gang blew up with fireworks near Huddersfield and the poor horse that was burned to death by firework arsonists in Bury.

These are just a few of the incidents that have been reported. How many more have there been and how many more will there be?

This firework nightmare will not improve, unless we can persuade the Government to change these stupid firework laws.

As the laws stands fireworks can be bought and used 365 days of the year and legally let off 16 hours of every day, with an extra hour for Nov 5th an extra two hours for Diwali, Chinese New Year and New Year's Eve.

Fireworks are still being used as weapons against people, animals and property.

For these reasons I started my second petition calling for fireworks to be restricted to organised licensed displays only at fixed times of the year and to reduce the noise levels.

So far I have collected over 98,000 signatures. I would like to thank everyone who has supported this petition, which I intend to present to No 10 Downing Street.

I am still collecting signatures, so if anyone would like to add their names please write to Teresa Kulkarni, 1 Methuen Avenue, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4BN or see website www. fireworkspetition. co. uk - Teresa Kulkarni, Norfolk.

REGIONAL STRATEGY: ALMOST a year ago myself and the vast majority of the NorthEast people voted against a regional assembly.

It is therefore hard to believe that the unelected version, (namely the North East Assembly) can be allowed to dictate what growth of housing can take place in the region, to the detriment of rural areas.

There is now a regional fire board, a regional housing strategy, a regional development agency (which just carries out its own pet projects) and now talk of a regional police force.

Is the Government therefore going to defy the electorate and impose a regional assembly? - County Councillor John Shuttleworth, Durham County Council.

BULLY TACTICS: IT was with sadness and concern that I witnessed the behaviour of a number of campaigners who attended a protest, and meetings at the town hall this week.

The campaigners claim to be voicing the concerns of people who are opposed to Darlington Council's proposals to close Eastbourne and Hurworth Schools and build a new £25m academy.

We believe these proposals will bring benefits for generations of Darlington pupils, but I accept that some people will disagree and they are fully entitled to do so.

However, I do not believe that people are entitled to stop members of the public getting into or out of the Town Hall, nor to bully and intimidate or publish personal attacks on websites.

It is unacceptable that anyone, including council officers, should have to endure bullying, intimidation or abuse.

The process of bidding for an academy has only just begun. As that process unfolds, it will include full and comprehensive consultation where everyone will have the opportunity to have their say and I can guarantee that those views will be listened to.

I appeal to the dissenters who are using intimidation as a tactic to try to influence the debate to pay us the courtesy of allowing us to have our say too.

Ada Burns, Chief Executive, Darlington Borough Council

SHARING SCHOOLS

HOW ironic it is that the group campaigning to "save" Hurworth School should call itself Share when it has no intention of sharing anything.

It should be called "Let's Not Share".

Let's not share the teachers at Hurworth School with any other children in Darlington.

Let's not share the opportunities that a brand new school will bring for future generations of children.

Let's not share the belief that every child that goes to school in Darlington is entitled to have the same chance of a good education.

Please think about the good that sharing what you have with others will bring. - Mandy Scott, Darlington.

HEART OF THE MATTER

IN any week I visit Eastbourne School at least three or four times for meetings and discussions. I take the opportunity to observe lesson change over and break times.

Do I recognise the picture of Eastbourne School which appeared in The Northern Echo (Oct 14), no I don't. The situation at Eastbourne School has improved and changed for the better and the residents of Darlington need to know this. This is not to deny that there have been difficulties, we would be the first to say that it has been tough.

These issues have been dealt with and we are now moving forward. We have had just as many meetings and discussions as our opposite numbers at Hurworth School, concerning the proposals and in many instances we "share" the same concerns.

The move to express an interest in the academy has raised additional concerns such as who will be the sponsor and what will be their educational philosophy, the admissions criteria, staff retention and community involvement.

However, we do acknowledge the many positives this will bring such as additional funding, a brand new building ahead of time that fits our educational aspirations and access to all the new technology which enhances good teaching.

It is acknowledged that the current buildings of both schools are not suitable for the 21st Century and the funding brought through the Federation and spent on both buildings has only further emphasised the need for a complete new build.

I have visited Hurworth School on a number of occasions and in some instances its facilities are poorer than those at Eastbourne School, especially the size of its classrooms.

As SHARE make a lot of hullabaloo, we prefer to get on with the business, which is educating our pupils. We now have embedded many of the systems which have led to the success of Hurworth School.

Under the leadership of Mr Farrar, and through the hard work of our teachers, we look forward to further improvement and success.

Pupils from both schools are already involved in sharing activities, "share" as in equally experiencing and participating to equal benefit. I was always taught that to "share" was good for all.

We at Eastbourne School have our own acronym, HEART, which stands for Hurworth and Eastbourne Achieving Results Together.

We are just as anxious to ensure that the educational needs of our children are at the "HEART" of any proposals.

Councillor V Copeland, Chairwoman of Eastbourne Governing Body.