I WONDER what the people of the North-East make of Gordon Brown's recent coup. It is on record that Brown didn't exactly have a fond opinion of Mrs Thatcher when he and the Labour Party were clawing their way back into government.

He tells us that he now admires her for her convictions. Which ones?

Whatever her convictions were, they invariably turned out to be bad for this region, something I imagine (not being old enough to recall) Gordie opposed at the time.

But is it any wonder he is such a flip-flop politician? We are led to believe that Mr Brown was against foundation schools, top-up fees, PFI hospitals, ID cards, and the Iraq war. He is a politician of such strong convictions, that instead of standing up to his former boss, he thought more of preparing a nest for his career than standing up for what he is alleged to believe in.

And he claims David Cameron is all spin and no substance.

Alex Mortimer, Durham.