NOW that the Lisbon Treaty has become part of EU law we are members of a European superstate. This means almost all our laws will be enacted in Brussels, reducing Westminster’s status to little more than a local authority.

While this sinks in, some MPs are saying they deserve a £40,000 increase in their annual salaries to more than £100,000 to compensate for not being allowed to milk their expenses any more.

So, as we have 646 MPs who don’t have enough to do, they choose this moment to say they deserve a salary of £100,000. With strictly controlled expenses.

They justify this by saying ordinary people can’t afford to be an MP on only £65,000 a year, plus the expenses incurred in doing the job.

But many MPs have not been milking their expenses and have managed on the basic salary. If they can survive on £65,000 a year, why can’t they all do it?

No qualifications are needed to be an MP and no training is necessary. All that is needed is to be selected and elected.

Many people might think £65,000 is rich reward for sitting in the House, booing and cheering at Prime Minister’s Question Time, attending committee meetings and trying to help constituents with their problems.

Jim Allan, Hartlepool.

AT last, we may owe gratitude to the French. We are about to drop off the EU radar. Let us hope we remain off radar when it comes to making financial and military contributions.

Perhaps our overpaid politicians can stop pretending we are a world power and concentrate on running this quite small bankrupt island. Our manufacturing and food production cannot meet domestic demand much less provide the foreign currency we need to balance the books.

As for the financial sector, well. Perhaps we should follow the Continental practice of ignoring rules and regulations that don’t suit and use only those that provide maximum benefit.

We could start with all central and local government spending being channelled to goods and services genuinely originating in the UK. Any politician could easily and flexibly evaluate the impact upon UK jobs to ensure that buying British always wins on an “all things being equal”

basis.

While we are at it, why not remove officials and quangos that appear intent upon enforcing the EU dictat to the limit. They appear to do more damage than anyone; witness the fishing industry debacle.

PR Davies, High Coniscliffe, Darlington.