ONCE more we are being offered the distinct and guaranteed prospect in the up and coming General Election that we will be taken to Utopia by all the political parties and that then we will all reside in Shangri-La for eternity.

What rubbish, this will be the 22nd General Election in my lifetime and I am still waiting for this to happen.

There has never ever even been a sniff of these promises. To me all the manifesto hyperbole is just that, like love letters written in the sand, very quickly washed away, because Utopia comes from the Greek “ou topas” meaning No Place and Shangri-La is a remote beautiful “imaginary” place where life approaches perfection. You have been warned, do not hold out any hopes for any improvement in your lot based on past non-performance from Westminster, it will be just business as usual maintaining the status quo as determined by 650 unrepresentative individuals.

Michael Hawkins, Langley Park, Durham.