KATE GREEN, Labour’s shadow education secretary, is calling for an investigation into Tory cronyism regarding the appointment of James Wharton, now Lord Wharton of Yarm, as the head of the Office for Students. The time has come to reform the composition of the House of Lords.

I helped James win his first Parliamentary victory in 2010 in Stockton South. He only won by 332 votes.

After he was elected, he changed his mobile number and I stopped hearing from him.

The next I heard of James, he was placed at the top of the ballot for Private Members Bills. He was proposing a referendum on our EU membership.

When he was junior minister in charge of overseas aid and development for Africa, I wrote to him again, with the details of a scheme for hydroelectric power for Cairo, but I heard nothing back.

I worked for the Student Loan Company for a while and also worked as a consultant in Leeds at the same time. As far as the SLC is concerned, the people who work there think they regulate the university sector. So what exactly does the Office for Students do?

Cllr Nigel Boddy (LibDem), Darlington.