ON the flip side of removing child benefit from parents of criminal children, will good, hard-working children with responsible parents receive a top-up?

I was born in the 1960s, colliery house, shared tap in the yard, tin bath and outside toilet. Does this mean the world owes me a living and I must resort to crime?

The usual do-gooder lefties' claims of 'this policy hurts the poor' is insulting to people of my background.

The overwhelming majority of people brought up in those same streets had the same as ourselves: nowt. Parents still managed to instil the difference between right and wrong.

This is not targeting the poor, it is targeting those who don't care about anything.

It will fail badly though. The same people know the system inside out. Having children seems to be an open sesame to a whole range of free benefits from housing, clothing and furniture to cash and holidays.

£70m owed in fines is simply written off in England each year, £11m of which is in the North-East, while 96 per cent of victims receive little help.

Powers must be restored to parents, teachers, police and the courts. We owe it to the victims of crime. - J Tague, Chairman, Conservative Party, Bishop Auckland.

ELECTORAL REFORM

PROPORTIONAL representation will not necessarily make for better government and give us better government. The only problem with our democratic process is apathy and the fact that a government can gain such a majority when so many people did not vote.

Do we want a government that has to rely on wheeling and dealing with minorities who can create havoc to broker its own ends? We have pressure groups who influence government decisions, sometimes to great cost to the majority.

It is time the law was changed so that all who are eligible to vote do vote. After all, that is what democracy is all about and many people lost their lives fighting for it.

Proportional representation gave Hitler the opportunity to gain power and has brought down many governments, creating chaos in its wake and, in my opinion, will do the same to British politics. Devolution will one day come back to haunt the Labour Party and will create more problems than it solves and to add proportional representation to the list will make matters worse, not better. - John Young, Crook.

NORTHUMBRIA

I LISTENED to the Queen's speech in Newcastle recently and was struck by one word she used. In speaking of the North-East, she used the term Northumbria. Now, so far as I know, such a place does not exist.

I am sure that the majority of people living in the North-East of England prefer to say that they live in County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear or Cleveland.

The term Northumbria is used as a marketing tool in the tourist industry, I am not sure why. Even then, I think it must upset some people, me included. So why did the Queen use it? Is it perhaps because we are about to see it brought in as the name for the new region when England gets regional assemblies? Then the question is: what constitutes Northumbria? Will it extend to the Humber as the old kingdom did?

In any case, it seems strange that the Queen should use the word. Perhaps someone better qualified than me can provide an answer? - JT Barraclough, Newton Aycliffe.

PLANE SPOTTERS

I COULD hardly believe that a democratic ally like Greece prosecuted aeroplane spotters who were merely carrying out their hobby.

Surely our train spotters are not spies too, possibly collecting information for Arriva's next strike.

How can Britain hope to work alongside countries like Greece if we become members of the Monetary Union? - Raymond Selkirk, Chester-le-Street.

TONY BLAIR

IN his criticism of Tony Blair (HAS, May 10), John Young seems to suggest that there is something wrong with being described as decent and honest.

Mr Young agrees that more money has been delivered, then implies that this may not be such a good thing.

Then he goes on to say that many pensioners have benefited, but many young people have been deprived of a decent wage.

In actual fact, it is this Government that has brought in the minimum wage to ensure that those young people are paid a decent wage.

He also believes that the low unemployment figures are manipulated and he does not believe that our industry is doing well.

He probably does not believe that we are the fourth richest country in the world. - D Adams, Framwellgate Moor, Durham.

BANK OF ENGLAND

SIR Edward George is due to retire shortly as Governor of the Bank of England.

The appointment of a successor is a matter for the Prime Minister. The only factors to be considered should be the reputation, ability, track record and of course, merit of the contenders.

At any other time this would be so, but this is Blairite Britain and conventions are subject to variation.

The culture of cronyism, as perfected by Tony Blair, will no doubt play a part in the decision-making process. This, together with the views of applicants with regard to the single currency will, I predict, outweigh all other considerations. - Dave Pascoe, Press Officer, UK Independence Party, Teesside Branch.