PREOCCUPATION with the current parliamentary problems should not overshadow the world problems that we face. They do need to be solved in a way that enables us to deal with them.

That means being able to show leadership and the ability to work with other countries when dealing with the problems that all countries face.

When will the gas and oil run out? Who will have control of the rundown in supplies? How should we be dealing with the current world food shortages and the increased pressure placed on those resources by population rises? These and other questions can only be answered through outward looking politicians using machinery that brings them together.

European countries can show a lead through the EU. This is taken care of through the common foreign policy element of the Lisbon Treaty. We need to recognise that those who drew up this element differentiated between the policies that belong to individual countries and those where common ground dictates common action.

There is also a need to develop wider understanding of such situations in the population as a whole. We are British citizens first, European citizens second and world citizens third.

Bill Morehead, Darlington.