Letters

AFTER reading Tuesday's comments by George Reynolds that Gary Bennet is a better manager than Chris Turner, I feel I should point out that success in Division Three is measured by how close you finish to the top and not the bottom of the division!

The two full seasons Chris Turner has been in charge at Hartlepool have resulted in them reaching the play-offs.

Prior to that, he came in at the end of the season to save the club from relegation, which he did.

His predecessor at the club prior to that was a certain Mick Tait who I believe now holds a managerial post at Darlington.

Would I swap Chris Turner for Gary Bennet - er, no thanks. But, if the swap was offered to Darlington fans, would they be equally reluctant? - J Hall, Hartlepool.

EUROPE

THERE has been much discussion in newspaper columns about the relationship between English and Scottish law and European law, and which takes precedence.

As early as 1964, the European Court of Justice concluded that in those areas in which the European Community's members had given the community power to introduce legislation, they must also have intended that the laws and regulations introduced under those powers would take precedence over national laws. Otherwise, member states would be able to undermine their Community commitments by passing conflicting national laws. This is hardly rocket science.

Nine years later, in 1973, when we joined the Community, we accepted the club's existing rules.

The UK Parliament passed the European Communities Act 1972, and ratified the Treatment of Accession. It passed the Single European Act in 1987. The British people endorsed membership in a referendum in 1975. However, no one could prevent the UK Parliament from deciding to leave the EU, although this would certainly be time-consuming, expensive and damaging to many UK interests.

Since then, the UK has played its part in making the rules through its commissioners, members of European Parliament and in participation in the Council of Ministers.

How the institutions work is described in a new booklet "The European Union Today". In its foreword, Sir Michael Butler (former UK Permanent Representative to the EC) says: "The EU is not perfect. It needs and will continue to need reform. But its contribution to the peace and prosperity of Western Europe is immense. Membership is overwhelmingly in Britain's interests." - Robin Ashby, Secretary for the North East in Europe.

AS one or two people may have noticed, Paul Sykes has published full-page adverts in every national newspaper naming MPs who are in favour of a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.

He quotes figures from an opinion poll carried out in March, saying that 71 per cent of the British public want a referendum on our continued membership of the EU, and 52 per cent want to leave the EU now.

Mr Sykes' advert misrepresents the figures in his own poll. Fifty-two per cent of people who expressed an opinion on EU membership wanted to leave. However, this figure excludes all those who didn't know or didn't answer his question. Only in the small print does he really admit this. In reality, 42 per cent of people in his survey wanted to withdraw from the EU, not the majority he had claimed.

Mr Sykes' poll showed that 75 per cent of respondents thought they did not know enough about the EU. His advert does nothing to aid public understanding.

Mr Sykes wants Britain to withdraw from the EU. With up to 3.5 million jobs dependent on exports to Europe, withdrawal would be an economic disaster for Britain. Withdrawal would cost Britain £20bn a year. With these adverts, he is misrepresenting public opinion.

Like all anti-Europeans, he is only interested in confusing and scaring the public. - Nick Milligan, Regional Organiser, European Movement in the North East.

GREEN BELT

YOUR editorial (Echo, May 14) on the amount of empty houses and the land grabbing of the green belt, has only one conclusion, a disgrace.

John Prescott has allowed over half the planning applications in the green belt, which questions his integrity and the authority of the Government.

There is much that could be done if Tony Blair had the courage to give us the same deal as his countrymen.

The leader writer asserts the right to buy and use outside investment which may be well and good for some. But what would be most welcome is a solid effort by the Government to give these estates back to the law-abiding citizen at a rent they can afford, with security and a decent environment; without the fear of crime, drugs and many other problems what have seen these once fine estates sink to.

Labour promised to the less well off, a better quality of life. But as long as we have these run-down estates and their deprivation, there can never be a better Britain. Only winners and losers. - John Young, Crook.

CONFIDENTIALITY

AT least Railtrack admitted its "commercial confidentiality" excuse was "nonsense" (Echo, May 17). It is disgraceful when privatised utilities use that false excuse to cover up their misrepresentations - as National Grid plainly did in its trumped up case for the giant pylons from Teesside to York.

National Grid said most of the £67m per annum constraint charges in the North of England were due to the lack of the proposed line. It tried to blame the costs on objectors causing delays but refused to reveal "commercially confidential" details.

Now, the whole constraint costs for England and Wales have since fallen well below that level, with still no new line, proving the claim false. Railtrack attributed £21m to £24m spent on railway bridges. How much of that is creative accounting for office work and not productive maintenance at all? - Mike O'Carroll, Independent Candidate, Appleton Wiske Division, NYCC.