LIBRARY PLEA: COUNCIL tax has risen by 84 per cent since Labour came to power. Councils often face tough choices between increasing council tax or spending less on local services.

However, Durham County Council's decision to allow the closure of Wheatley Hill Library will cut a vital local service in an east Durham village where local residents, county councillors and parish councillors are working hard to build a stronger community despite problems of deprivation, health inequalities and crime.

Wheatley Hill Library has been a focus for local people and groups to meet and chat, to gain access to the Internet, borrow books and so much more.

For the elderly and young people without transport, who depend on the library, its closure without any replacement service at all, will leave them without cultural services which people in the City of Durham can enjoy seven days a week.

Whether you blame Tony Blair or Durham County Council for higher council tax and cuts in essential services, one thing is clear: Labour is letting us down. - Michael Fishwick, City of Durham and Easington Conservatives.

PRINCE CHARLES

IT was uncanny that on the same page as an excellent editorial comment (Echo, Feb 23) regarding what I personally believe to be the dictatorial nature of the local Labour Party and its perennial inability to fund services, you ask for views on the political pronouncements of Prince Charles.

Quite simply, Prince Charles is not even in the position of swinging enough power as Comrade Charlie from the loony left of the local council, and, for me, he has as much right to his opinion as the next man or woman.

Despite being in total favour of the monarchy, my own view is that the actions of Prince Charles are often useful, but never harmful, the complete opposite to the actions of the comrades who hold power throughout the North-East, whose actions are nearly always useless and harmful. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

BOMBER COMMAND

THERE has been some recent correspondence in HAS about the omission of any campaign medal for the men of RAF Bomber Command who flew during the Second World War.

I was brought up in Coventry, a city which suffered grievously on the night of November 14, 1940. That night hundreds of Coventrians perished, the glorious medieval cathedral church was destroyed and the fair historic countenance of Coventry was obliterated for ever. The Luftwaffe did their work well and I was never able to see the city in all its pre-war glory.

Saturation bombing is heinous and if Coventry was on a relatively small scale, we more than made up for it at Dresden.

It is no great surprise that the subject is controversial and we will probably learn more in the coming years of the rumoured divergence of views between Churchill and Arthur "Bomber" Harris. What we do know is of the undoubted bravery of the Bomber Command crews.

Can you imagine taking off night after night in a cold, uncomfortable aircraft on a highly hazardous mission in the full knowledge that you had a very good prospect of suffering a painful death?

Thirty operations completed a tour of duty, then a period of leave, then back on to duty. Yet these gallant men continued regardless, following their orders and making their contribution to the war effort.

The very least we can do is honour the men of Bomber Command appropriately, rather than they be denied for what is now seen as a controversial military campaign. - Derek Parker, Bishop Auckland.

Richmond'S LOSS

I HAVE just attended the Richmondshire District Council environmental and planning committee meeting as a member of the public as invited by the committee.

The meeting was to approve/reject the application to develop Yorke Square car park by building 14 apartments in what is at present a beautiful scenic and historical part of Richmond.

Against all logic, huge public opinion, environmental and their own planning policies, the Independent coalition council members voted six to five in favour of the development (how the chairperson can vote before knowing that it would be a hung committee I do not know?).

It was a political vote, all sensible arguments being put forward by the Conservative/Lib Dems whilst the Independents mumbled that they supported the application without any conviction.

Richmond is the loser. - John Capewell, Richmond

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

THE latest so called public consultation on North Tees/Hartlepool hospital was hypocrisy on a grand scale.

Is there any wonder politicians both national and local are held in the lowest esteem?

On three occasions in the last year the public consultation has been ignored: Stockton High Street South: Darlington High Row development and, the classic, the new bridge to be built across the Tees in the North Stockton Development

Folk now say public consultion has already been decided in council or local government but let the council tax payers believe that they matter. Such hypocrisy is breathtaking. - R Harbron, Norton.

CARE HOMES

RE the decision by Durham County councillors to keep open several of the current stock of care homes for the elderly residents of Durham County (Echo, Feb 23).

This decision was made behind closed doors without the voters of Durham County Council being aware of which way their individual representative cast their vote.

Through your columns, might I ask if the public can be given the record of how each councillor did vote towards reaching that highly commendable decision?

I feel that this information will help the electorate in choosing their best representative in future elections. - John Smith, Shildon.

VOTING PACKAGES

THE EU Parliament has a moderate influence over its budget each November. The ghost of democracy is thwarted, however, because MEPs must vote for several unconnected pages of proposals together. Thus a vote for a reasonable cause, such as the encouragement of small businesses, can also entail support for a questionable use of public money, such as bribing Balkan countries with 190 million euros.

Last year, these separate voting packages allowed 316 million euros to be allocated for "administrative management", then in another package 50 million euros was accepted for the same purpose.

Sometimes the MEPs simply didn't know what they were voting for. Technical amendments were produced immediately before a vote without further information.

Despite four billion euros of tax payers' money sitting somewhere unspent, every adult and child cursed by EU membership must pay an average of six per cent more, or approximately £135 each for the privilege. No further funding goes to fight EU corruption. However, less than a million euros going AWOL, can now be legally ignored. - Charlotte Bull UKIP, Darlington.