C’MON put your hands together for our politicians because they have just stitched us all up again.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we were in a period of wage freezes, huge debt and crippling local authority austerity measures.

So how is a figure of £3bn being bandied around for the refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster? Why, in these harsh economic times, is there not a freeze on refurbishment to Government buildings?

Three billion is serious money. A figure like that would go a long way to financing work programmes for the disabled on Teesside, or providing Sunday bus services for remote towns and villages and to keep leisure centres and libraries open.

Politicians are making mugs of people.

John Phelan, Howden-le-Wear.