10:49am Tuesday 12th September 2006
TONY BLAIR: Why doesn't Tony Blair spend a little time at home and think about his own people for a change instead of sticking his nose in foreigners' affairs?
Maybe he should take a lesson from the Swiss and just let the rest of the world go rolling by.
When Mr Blair finally goes, who will end up as Chancellor of the Exchequer, for whatever you may think of Gordon Brown, I cannot think of anybody who would have done a better job. - Andy Leigh, Spennymoor.
IN an overwhelming democratic vote of confidence, Tony Blair was handed a mandate to govern England for a third term. In his two previous successful terms in office, achievements included: ceasing of hostilities in Ireland, employment reduced, interest rates kept low with inflation stable and the country again established as one of five richest economies on the planet.
Despite the recent resignations, Mr Blair rightly did not disclose the date of his departure, adding it would be within a year - time enough for party restructuring. Apparently Labour funds are dangerously low and it would be certainly in the interests of trade unions to vote to finance the party, or risk another term of misery and misrule by the Conservatives.
Recent mediation in the Middle East shows Tony Blair is respected in many areas of the world. - Bernard McCormick, Newton Aycliffe.
I MAY not agree with some of Tony Blair's policies, but I think he is one of Labour's best leaders to date and I think that the pressure to ask him to give up his job is a sure way of the Labour Party shooting itself in the foot (and the heart).
Did the people slinging the shots not realise that a recent survey in a well known broadsheet newspaper showed that Labour had a better chance of returning to government under Tony Blair than a certain MP who has increased taxes. - Tim Glanvill, Danby Wiske, Northallerton.
THE spin machine is playing the resignation of Hartlepool MP Iain Wright as a matter of principle. This might be true, but the principle has more to do with his political career than with the best interests of the people of Hartlepool.
Not a single Member of Parliament, including Mr Wright, has enough principles to speak up in defence of the British system of law, our police and court procedures.
On September 22, Home Secretary John Reid, (the same man who guaranteed the future of Hartlepool hospital during the 2004 by-election and whose word has evidently not been honoured (otherwise why did Mr Wright feel he has to resign?) will attend a meeting of European Union Justice Ministers to discuss abolition of the national veto on "Justice and Home Affairs".
The EU would acquire the power to determine who shall be put in prison, what judicial process would be applied, impose changes to our laws and our police and court procedures, regardless of our wishes. The UK Government has just nine per cent of the votes on this particular committee and has already accepted the imposition of the European Arrest Warrant, under which British subjects may be arrested, shipped over to Europe, tried and imprisoned for something which might not even be a crime in the UK.
When will the people of this country say the enough is enough? Eight out of ten laws in the UK now originate in Brussels. We'd be better off out. - Stephen Allison, UKIP Councillor, Hartlepool Borough Council.
WHAT a shower this New Labour lot are turning out to be. We are 18 months into this Parliamentary term and already they are starting to worry about winning the next election. Don't they realise that their worldwide conduct has guaranteed they have lost any future election?
Tony Blair has guaranteed a win for the Conservatives, his mother party if he was truthful, since he's been running Conservative policies since he came to power.
But there are no alternatives if you look at the credentials of some of the main contenders for Mr Blair's job. Alan Milburn stood down as Health Secretary and advised a company that was providing services to the NHS for profit. John Reid, Home Secretary, wants to lock everyone up in the name of security and when holding the Defence Secretary's job he stated that the British troops he was sending to Afghanistan would be going there to help the local government and it was likely that they would never have to fire a shot - yet they are attacked every day and we have lost 40 men killed so far this year.
All the Blairites are of the same grain, so what chance do they think they have in any coming elections? - Peter Dolan, Newton Aycliffe.
HEALTH REFORMS
WITH reference to DT Heatherington's letter, Scrutiny Questions (HAS, Sept 7), may I put the record straight.
Durham County Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee agreed to recommendations that essentially backed the concerns that communities in Weardale and Teesdale expressed in their response to the Primary Care Trust (PCT) consultation on ambulance services in rural areas, encouraging the PCT to take on board issues raised when they make a decision on September 20.
Durham Dales Patient and Public Involvement Forum (DDPPIF) was one of the respondents to the consultation.
Health Scrutiny received an analysis of all consultation responses received by the PCT so that its members were able to contribute to an informed debate before reaching an evidence-based conclusion, which it did.
I, with fellow Scrutiny councillors, attended two of the four public meetings held in July. We received first-hand the concerns local people raised regarding ambulance services.
So not only did we listen to local people, we also considered all the consultation responses in reaching our position.
Finally, I am disappointed that, as chairman of the committee, DDPPIF did not see it fit to send me a copy of their report. - Councillor John Priestley, Chairman, Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee, Durham County Council.
HOSPITAL SERVICES
SERVICES transferred from Bishop Auckland to Darlington hospital from 1997 to 2006 include: trauma orthopaedics, emergency surgery, emergency and in-patient gynaecological beds, special care baby unit, consultant led midwifery, overnight children's services, major surgery.
Only 15 in-patient surgical beds at Bishop remain and there are presently decisions being made to further reduce surgery and orthopaedic beds.
There are concerns about the patients and relatives of Darlington travelling to Bishop Auckland. It poses the question: what about those who need to travel to Darlington for all the above services? Many of these patients are living in Weardale and outlying areas and have very poor transport links. - Name and address supplied.
CHOKER
A REPRIMAND. Your campaign article concerning the hidden dangers from badly maintained gas fires from carbon monoxide poisoning carried the banner headline "Safety drive reveals extent of CO2 danger" (Echo, Sept 8). The text also refers to CO2 (as well as CO.) CO2 is the gas we exhale with every breath. Carbon monoxide CO is the dangerous poison. - Eric Gendle Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.
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