THE General Election approaches on a date yet to be announced and I have wondered what the odds would be of New Labour winning another term.

Perhaps there would be more chance of Elvis Presley winning the Grand National riding Shergar. However, the recent outburst from pompous Tory dinosaur Sir Nicholas Winterton, MP for Macclesfield, complaining about MPs losing the right to travel first class on the rail system, will have given comfort to Gordon Brown.

Even though he and his wife, the MP for neighbouring Congelton, are standing down at the next election, the Tories will still be, for many, the party of elitists and privilege immune to the worries and privations of ordinary people.

John Major’s vision of a classless society was admirable, but it was just a dream. Don’t get me wrong; people like Sir Nicholas exist in all the political parties as demonstrated by the MPs’ expenses scandal. It’s just that the Tories can’t shake off this image of being the party of pinstriped toffs.

Ian Sadler, Darlington.