EVERYONE knows that there is massive unemployment in the North-East where major industries have been decimated.

The Labour Government has given industry and manufacturing a low priority. I appreciate Thorn lighting at Spennymoor going for a new state-of-the-art factory to enable it to sustain employment - we need more positive action like this.

I blame the Labour Party for ignoring its heartland. The problem is that the majority of Parliamentary seats are in the affluent south-east. Therefore, the two main political parties have given our area low priority.

Many of the younger generation in my Spennymoor Ward have had to move south, away from their families, to gain employment. The long term effect will leave the North-East with an older population.

We need a "Minister for the North" to ensure that we receive maximum funding and incentives to attract new industries.

Why is the Government still refusing to update the Barnett Formula, which I see in The Northern Echo, means that Scotland receives £8,265 per head of central funding while the North-East only receives £7,689 per head - £576 less?

Councillor Ben Ord (Lib Dem), Spennymoor Ward, Sedgefield Borough Council.