03/04/06

I pay five per cent of my salary into my pension scheme, which is rising to six per cent very soon. In the 85-year rule you must be 60 years old and have 25 years service to qualify. Not 55 with 30 years service as you stated (Echo, Mar 28).

The way the pension works for the tradesman is for every year you work you get an eighth of your salary.

So if you are 60 with 25 years service in at present, you can retire with just over a quarter of your salary.

The maximum pension you can get is 40 years. How many people stay in one job for 40 years nowadays? Not many. - I Brown, Darlington.

WHY were Darlington's councillors not on strike last week? They are salaried and belong to the same pension scheme as the staff on strike. Could it be they were negotiating with themselves for a better pension deal?

This unhealthy conflict of interest can be removed by the election of a mayor. A mayor elected by all the people entitled to vote in the borough will represent them to the rest of the council.

This is what independent research on the subject has found. - Clive Owen, Spokesperson, Darlington Referendum Group.

ENGLISH PARLIAMENT

IF, like me, you are utterly fed up with being told what you can't have and why you shouldn't have it, purely because you are English, then act now and save your country.

For those Northern Echo readers who wish it, please write to me with a letter containing just these words: "I demand England has its own Parliament in place on 26/03/2007."

This is the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, a fitting date for England to regain control over its own affairs.

I will ensure that all letters are delivered to 10 Downing Street personally.

For the purpose of validation only, please put your name and address on the letter and I promise you will not be contacted by me for any reason.

I will inform the Northern Echo on the number of letters and when I will deliver them. - Steven Gash, English Democrats Party, 9 St Augusta View, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9RB.

TV MASTERPIECE

THE plight of the elderly was admirably highlighted in the programme Me and My Mum, Channel 4, March 27.

It had commitment, compassion and understanding and was compiled by an excellent presenter, an accomplished journalist and one aware of the sad predicament of these gentle, loved people.

People who have largely given much of their lives to bring up families and who remain cherished, too often receive less than adequate care.

For the first time I did not feel alone with the over-burdened guilt that has possessed me this past nine months.

This portion of my life is becoming a problem to society now that life expectancy is greater. No-one who has a closely bonded family wishes to be parted from a loved one later in life, especially to witness the sadness in their eyes because there is no longer the familiar sounds of home around them. To be a couple separated at this stage is traumatic and extremely costly if one has been diligent enough to save in the hope that the twilight of life can be enjoyed in comfort.

This was a masterpiece of television for a deprived sector of our population. - Barbara Evans, Darlington.

POLITICAL FUNDING

THE world of politics has always been shrouded in drama but, unlike the soap opera or thriller, the characters in the set are real people.

Politics is supposed to be about relationships between the electorate, their elected Members of Parliament and government.

Winning power is an expensive business, but it is worrying that benefactors' 'gifts' or 'loans' can wield such power and influence.

Political power should be about providing protection to those vulnerable individuals and groups in society and in promoting opportunities socially and economically. It should be a matter of trust and responsibility, not privilege and patronage.

So often public duty and the success and achievements of politicians and government is clouded by scandal and sleaze. In order for politicians, political parties and those who support them to rise above the jibes that power corrupts, there is a need to return to the real issues.

Whether public funding for political parties' election campaigns is the answer is one thing, but what is paramount is that public apathy and scepticism must be energised by confidence and belief that politics can deliver and be trusted. - Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe, Co Durham.

EDWIN BURNSIDE

AS a former pupil of Brotton Boys School in East Cleveland, I was sorry to read of the recent death of our old teacher, Mr Edwin Burnside (Echo, Mar 25).

I met an old school friend recently and we agreed that Mr Burnside would mostly be remembered for the way he had introduced us to cricket.

Prior to Mr Burnside's arrival, we had had no cricket tuition at all. We played our first competitive match in 1954 against Loftus School and I was chosen to be in the Brotton side.

In assembly the next morning Mr Burnside informed the school that we had lost the match after Loftus had made 106 and we had been bowled out for 57, thanks mainly to Winston Wright and Leslie Wilson, who had made 14 and 25 respectively.

Fond memories indeed of Mr Burnside. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

TONY BLAIR

WHEN you watch or listen to Prime Minister's Question Time on a Wednesday you soon come to realise what a group of no-hopers run this country of ours.

They all get elected on promises they have no intention of keeping, like being caught out on second chamber reform. And we now find that people have been elected to the second chamber in what can only be described as suspicious circumstances which has resulted in the police being brought in to decide the facts.

People are jumping up to ask a question which when you hear it can only be described as fawning and is an obvious plant to give the central figure an easy time after being caught out by the previous question.

When you see the House of Commons operating you soon realise that half the MPs could be done away with as all they are required to be there for is to build up the numbers for a vote. - Peter Dolan, Newton Aycliffe.

ANIMAL TESTING

JOHN Young is wrong in the conclusions he draws on the use of animals in medical research (HAS, Mar 27).

We share over 90 per cent of our DNA with other mammals, as well as our vital organs, which is why animals continue to be the best model for testing new drugs and therapies.

We would all like to see a time when medical progress is not dependent on the use of animals, but that time is not yet here.

Without animals in medical research, we will struggle to find cures for cancer, Alzheimer's disease or even asthma; conditions which have a huge impact on people's quality of life. - Jo Tanner, Chief Executive, Coalition for Medical Progress, London.