REGIONAL GOVERNMENT: ANY lack of enthusiasm for a regional assembly stems from a lack of awareness of the nature of regional government and what positive benefits it can bring to the people of the North-East.

To try and allay Mr Rishworth's fears (HAS, Mar 12) of the same people currently running local councils who may be elevated to become regional assembly councillors, I would offer him and others some hope.

The proposed assembly will have about a third of its members elected by some form of proportional representation. A new and forward looking elected assembly with real influence over issues in the region such as: employment, housing, transport, public health, culture, tourism and the environment, would hopefully inspire fresh faces to come forward from either the political parties or, as individuals who would wish to represent their communities.

It needs to be remembered that we currently have a de-facto regional government with an unelected regional development agency.

Currently about £350m per year is spent by regional quangos, who are largely unelected and the public have no direct say over them. A future regional assembly will take over these responsibilities and decisions would be made by elected representatives who would be accountable to the region's voters every four years, unlike the present regional government structure.

Let's not be negative about a new type of local government whose aim would be to redress the North-South economic and social imbalances.

We have a great North East region and strong North-East identity. Let the people have the referendum this autumn, and vote for an elected regional assembly - one that will have a strong voice and influence to help change the economic and social fortunes for the whole region and its people. - Philip Draper, Sedgefield.

YOU printed two letters on this subject (HAS, Mar 13). RM Young rightly asks the important questions to do with additionality, improved services and reduced costs that those who support the proposed assembly must answer.

However T Kelly demonstrates the warped thinking that seems to be the only argument that the "no" lobby have to offer.

He states that small is good and big is bad - and I have no problem with this. But then goes on to champion the status quo, ie continued control from Westminster apparently because the people of the North-East can't be bothered to vote.

I reiterate the point I've made previously through this column. Do we get a fair deal now? If the answer is "yes" then let's vote down the assembly, but if the answer is "no" then let's have the courage to put our trust in local politicians to demand that our region gets its share of the national cake.

I'm willing to bet that Messrs Kelly et al are happy to concede that the North-East is badly treated, yet they have nothing to offer except more of the same negative posturing and inconsistent arguments. - DW Lacey, Newton Hall.

PENSIONERS

H DINSDALE (HAS, Mar 13) is wrong to imply pensioners should be satisfied just became some are well off.

Some pensioners are able to lead a comfortable life because they have had a good enough job to put enough aside during their working life. But there many living in poverty because they have never earned enough to put enough aside for retirement or were bringing up children.

Many people find themselves with less than expected because they have been given bad advice. Over four million married women could be left with little or no state pension as past governments have encouraged them to rely on their husbands' pensions contributions.

There is help for the poorest, but many people do not claim what they are entitled to.

The latest official figures showed pensioners missing out on £770m in Council Tax Benefit they are entitled to and 870,000 of Britain's poorest pensioners miss out on the Minimum Income Guarantee.

Groups like Age Concern, Citizen's Advice Bureaux and your local council can help pensioners get the benefits they are entitled to. - Councillor Paul Leake, LibDem, Pelaw and Gilesgate Ward, Durham City Council.

PERHAPS Mr Dinsdale (HAS, Mar 13) should check his facts.

My husband and I are pensioners (under-75). We are happy, blessed and usually satisfied, despite being on a low pension topped with Pension Credit.

The heating allowance is £200 per couple, not £300, and we have never been visited by a District Nurse - nor should we be, not being invalids.

Neither do we have holidays abroad. We have no complaints, Mr Dinsdale. Please don't tar us pensioners with the same dissatisfied brush. - J Stewart, Northallerton.

TERRORISM

THERE are two groups under suspicion for the Madrid outrages - Eta and al Qaida.

The latter has apparently claimed responsibility, while the former has denied it.

There is, however, one clue that nobody has as yet noticed - the date. March 11, 2004 is two-and-a-half-years to the day since September 11, 2001. This can hardly be coincidence.

Eta has no reason to date an outrage so precisely. However, there would seem to be every reason for al Qaida to choose it in its forward planning.

The date would have special significance for it and it would not only be easy for it to remember beforehand, but also be easy for its victims to remember afterwards. - W Pearson, Stockton-on-Tees.

THE assertions of Tony Blair in his speeches that he will conquer terrorism must sound like a challenge to the terrorists to do their worst.

As the IRA famously said "we only have to get lucky once - you have to get lucky every time" and there is no way that you get lucky every time.

We, the Americans and the Spanish people are reaping the whirlwind of extremist reaction predicted by many pundits to their support for the illegal war in Iraq and the aggressive foreign policies advanced by the Bush/Blair partnership.

This is being done despite the majority of the UK population being against such action. Those policies have left Iraq in the dreadful mess it is now in, with thousands of people dead and the Iraqi people regarding their so-called liberators as infidel invaders with some actively resisting them.

Yet our politicians still posture about countering a potential attack they cannot defend against instead of trying to heal what has gone wrong or much better still keeping quiet altogether.

It will not be the top politicians, safe behind their protection, who will die in any terrorist act but the ordinary people as we saw in Madrid.

Come the elections, let's hope we voters remember who put us and our families in the front line. - Chris Greenwell, Aycliffe Village.