DAVID Cameron would do nothing but talk Britain down, according to Giles Harris (HAS, April 22). It is questionable whether anyone could overdo this currently, given forecasts of the country’s future debt.

Talking of inaction, should Labour supporters not consider the effects on our current situation of Gordon Brown’s lack of action in letting unbridled borrowing and cheap credit take off?

Not stopping his penchant for creating non-productive jobs had the double whammy of pandering to his heartland support, and making the reversal of this blight doubly difficult for a future government.

At present, it is far too early to know if any of the measures taken will benefit us long-term, but it is estimated that the future generation will be saddled with debt from them for at least ten years.

Alistair Darling’s Budget proposals seem to rely on some kind of miracle that growth will increase next year to plus 1.25 per cent from this year’s negative 3.5 per cent. Will this prove as far out as his last year’s estimate of net borrowing £38bn – in reality, £175bn.

This Government seems too paralysed to take any real steps to rectify our plight, or is policy dictated by attempts to keep painful remedies until after the General Election.

John Heslop, Gainford, near Darlington.

ON the day that Chancellor Alistair Darling laid to rest the failed New Labour experiment, Giles Harris offered the oft-used phrase that David Cameron would do nothing (HAS, April 22).

With a Budget that clearly says Conservative warnings on the consequences of Labour’s fiscal gamble were entirely correct, suggesting that the Conservatives would have done nothing is incredible.

We can be sure that Labour’s economic forecasts, like its manifestos, are worthless.

Raising the top rate of income tax was a cynical ploy, However, playing to the politics of envy does not change the fact that Labour strongholds, including the North-East, are bottom of the table on issues such as wealth, education, health and crime.

Encouraging civil servants to turn off lights and count paper clips in so-called efficiency savings will not be enough and it will be, yet again, left to a Conservative government to clear up Labour’s economic mess, producing the usual cries of “heartless Tories and their Tory cuts”.

There will be casualties in the bloated public services. This will not be simply to spite Labour supporters; it will be as a result of Labour throwing money at every problem – and then running out of cash.

Des More, Darlington.

RE your letter from Giles Harris (HAS, April 22). To save £275 in VAT, between the rates of 17.5 per cent and 15 per cent, each household would have to spend £11,040, exclusive of VAT.

The Home Secretary’s spending under the second home allowance for bath plugs, fireplaces and porn TV might reach this figure, but certainly not that of average households.

Britain is “down” thanks to 11 years of mismanagement by a bunch of self-serving wannabe politicians who have masterminded the sale of our gold reserves at a knock-down price and destroyed private pensions, led by the New Labour messiah, Tony Blair, whom we find in Harry Mead’s adjoining column to HAS (Echo, April 22) is – having left the country to its fate – now earning £350,000 per hour.

Durham County Council has demonstrated its willingness to follow New Labour principles by preferring to spend an extra £24,000 per year on the Durham City park-and-ride facilities.

R Murray, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham.