December 29th, 2006

He now proposes to involve the public in government decision making by appointing a group of so-called ordinary people who will be involved in what happens at government level.

He's been involving people in decision making since he came to power. Anyone who was a friend of his was invited to join the House of Lords from where they could be involved in government decision making without the accountability or requirement of being elected.

Does he not consider the vast numbers of the public who took to the streets over Britain's proposed involvement in what is now called the Iraq war as public involvement? Or does involvement only count when you actually agree with him?

The public has been trying to influence policy on many matters, from proposed hospital ward closures to transport regulations, and if you are not one of Mr Blair's close friends you are not listened to.

All this is another stunt by Mr Blair to escape the blame for the mess he has caused before he goes. - Peter Dolan, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham.

SO Tony Blair is to consult the public over future major decisions. A problem shared, problem halved?

He asks people to join "deliberative panels" so they can have input and "step into the shoes of ministers".

He should have no doubt the public will have a say in forthcoming events - and they will not just step into the shoes of ministers, but may even step on a few ministers' constituency parties in the May elections.

With hindsight here are some deliberative suggestions, Mr Blair: When in a hole called Iraq, don't dig deeper to Afghanistan; when offering peerages, make sure the system appears fair and transparent, or you could be open to accusations of impropriety; make sure the Home Office is closely monitored, or it could become unfit for purpose; when assessing potential migration due to EU expansion try to forecast accurate figures to work with; when sending armed forces all over the globe, try not to let this coincide with its down-sizing. - Mark Anderson, Middleton St George, near Darlington.

PETE WINSTANLEY

JOHN Routledge (HAS, Dec 23) says it is time for Pete Winstanley to stand aside in regards to his correspondence relating to the Middle East and Islam.

He fails to recognise that while Mr Winstanley appears to be in a minority (no doubt Mr Winstanley has some statistics proving the contrary) that it is the continuous drone of such people which attempts to persuade the silent majority of their viewpoint.

I suggest Mr Winstanley accepts he is wrong: he cannot persuade readers of his naive and biased viewpoint on these matters; and that he stands aside and corresponds on other matters. After all, he is enormously entertaining, if not misguided.

Mr Winstanley may be awarded the noble Order of Islam in the New Year's Honours list, but he should think again and recommence on some other pointless and biased correspondence in 2007. - Colin T Mortimer, Pity Me, Durham.

MEDICINE OVERDOSE

I WAS disappointed to read reporter Paul Cook's story about a nine-year-old boy's medicine overdose at school (Echo, Dec 26), but he failed to raise the most important point - if the boy was only due a 5mg tablet at lunchtime while at school, how did the school come to be in possession of a 20mg tablet, resulting in the overdose?

If teachers are expected to give the tablet to the boy, surely the mother should send the correct dosage tablet?

If it happens to be a tablet which needs cutting to obtain the correct dosage, then again the mother should have ensured this was correctly done before giving the tablet to the teacher.

I am not laying blame for the mistake, but surely teachers teach and parents care.

A story which implies the blame lies with teaching staff does no one any good. - Ian Thompson, Spennymoor Co Durham.

HAPPY DAY

RE calls in HAS for a national Happy Day.

I would like to see the day when we didn't want to solve all problems by dropping bombs on them.

I would like to see the day when the courts handed down sentences to match the crime.

I would like to see the day when our streets are safe to walk day or night.

I would like to see the day when the vendetta against the health service is stopped and our doctors and nurses are praised for the wonderful work they do. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

TAXATION

IT is gratifying to learn that at last our Government has produced an undeniable success story.

According to the Office for National Statistics, and also the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, under Labour since 1997 our taxes have increased by the largest amount in the Western world and are at their highest level since records began.

When can we expect our Government to happily proclaim this to us and promise to maintain this Blair/Brown Old Labour policy of tax and spend, enhancing our daily lives so we can continue to enjoy the reduction of our competitiveness etc, etc? Long will this continue. - M Hawkins, Langley Park, Durham.

SMOKERS, drinkers and motorists contribute billions of pounds to the tax pool year after year. Without this source of easy money the NHS and other services paid from central funds would collapse.

How about Chancellor Gordon Brown finding a way to tax the freeloaders in the system, namely the non-smokers, non-drinkers and non-motorists? Squeeze them, too. - PW Anderson, Consett, Co Durham.

AIRPORT FOG

AS a rear gunner on Lancaster bombers during the Second World War, instructions were given out at "Briefing" that if fog prevented landing on return from a daylight raid we were to fly to an airfield known as FIDO (which meant Fog Intensive Dispersal Of). Our crew never used that airfield, so I don't know how it dispersed fog, but I did know others who did use it.

Following the mayhem of the recent fog at British airfields, would it not be sensible to find out how fog was dispersed from an airfield during the Second World War? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill, Co Durham.

ROAD CHARGING

RE Gerard Wild's letter about road charging (HAS, Dec 20). I have a question: When and where in the UK, if ever, was there an item/tax officially named the vehicle road fund licence?

It has always been my understanding that the paper disc that vehicle owners are required to display on their vehicle is to show that they have paid Customs and Excise Duty whose revenue is simply part of general taxation. - Eric Woodley, Billingham.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

MAY I thank The Northern Echo for giving me the chance to keep up with local news while living abroad.

I do frequently return to Darlington on holiday, but it's great to keep in touch with things when you are thousands of miles away. - Greg James, Tenerife.