PRIME Minister Gordon Brown's speech at the Labour Party Conference was a much better one than he usually delivers.

Using his wife was clever and effective, his style of presentation has quietened his rebels for the moment, and there was even a faint touch of humour (Yorkshire Post, September 24).

It was a good try at re-branding and re-launching himself, but will it stem the flow of Labour Party voters to other parties?

I agree with the PM as far as not wanting either a Tory nor Lib Dem government, but I do not want a Labour one either. I do not want "a fairer society", I want special perks and privileges for the indigenous English folk; to balance out the numerous years in which we have suffered under both Labour and Tory. I want the UK out of the EU.

I agree that we do not want a "novice" in charge, but that is exactly what we are stuck with, – a novice PM. We are still ruled by Brown's team, so very little will change for the better, and as the next General Election will not be held until sometime in 2010, we have very little to look forward to.

From: Coun John Bale, Guiseley and Rawdon Ward, Leeds City Council.

GORDON Brown says we don't want an "apprentice" to run the country, and looking at the contenders for his job I can see what he means.

But nor do we want an "improver" who, having watched for 10 years as his boss produced the most shaky of structures, then froze in horror as the whole assemblage collapsed to the ground.

From: Jean Frost, Elmpark Way, York.

SO far, I have read a good deal of negative criticism of Gordon Brown, our Prime Minister, in the Yorkshire Post. I think he deserves better than this, especially after his very impressive speech at the party conference (Yorkshire Post, September 24).


Young soldiers out of step with discipline on parade

From: David Nortcliffe, Hipperholme, Halifax.

YOU published a picture (Yorkshire Post, September 20) of young soldiers passing out from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick after six months of intensive training.

No doubt that involved many hours of drill instruction and several rehearsal sessions for their passing-out parade. But what is the Army coming to? The picture shows a row of men with arms bent and at a wide variety of angles, heads looking in varied directions. Things ain't what they used to be! What must the RSM have thought when he saw that picture?

If one compares it with the picture (Yorkshire Post, September 22) showing RAF Linton-on-Ouse on parade in York, the difference is tremendous.

Those RAF personnel are tradesmen and women who probably have not had any really intensive drill sessions since their initial training at least 18 months ago, judging by their arm badges. But their arms are straight and all at the same angle, fingers curled with thumb on top, their heads are held high and looking straight ahead. A smart parade. It makes one proud to have been in the RAF.

Does the Army now need a little help from the RAF in these matters?

From: Len Fincham, Warrels Road, Bramley, Leeds.

THE BBC's investigative programmes like Panorama would serve the country better if they presented something good going on instead of whingeing and seeking blame all the time.

Their latest effort was "bullying" in the Army and the Undercover Soldier programme (Yorkshire Post, September 18), filmed at Catterick.

The British Army is one of the finest in the world, built from centuries of tradition, pride and loyalty to Queen and country. Don't meddle!

The BBC should tell potential recruits, it's very tough, you are likely to be accidentally injured as you are being trained for self-discipline, unlimited discipline to authority, ie, to obey orders and to kill another human being. Soldiering is not a game. It is for men,
not "boys".

So to any potential recruit – if you can't take it, don't volunteer to join!


Prudence pays dividends for funding pensions

From: Brian A Jones, consulting actuary, Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York, United States

"PENSIONS are complex; much actuarial witchcraft is involved. Most people do not understand them..." says Godfrey Bloom (Yorkshire Post, September 4).

As a practitioner of actuarial witchcraft, I agree that the issues are complex, but one of the main reasons for the lack of public understanding is the proliferation of nonsense such as Mr Bloom's article.

It is simply not true that we should "put all public-sector workers in the same position as private-sector workers". A private pension plan must be run in a way which brings it up to full funding as soon as possible.

If this is not done, there is a danger that the sponsoring organisation will go out of business, leaving benefit expectations unmet. The Government is not going out of business – more precisely, if it does we have bigger problems to worry about than public pensions – which means that we can run them on a different basis: ideally, at least for budgeting purposes, based on a flat percentage of payroll, which will meet future benefit payments.

Any asset build-up due to contributions and investment earnings exceeding benefits, usually in the earlier years, is a secondary consequence of the level-contribution funding.

In Norway today, public plans are being heavily pre-funded using oil royalties, for reasons of prudence, not as a matter of dogma.

Had Mr Bloom argued for similar pre-funding at the height of Britain's North-Sea-oil bonanza, he would have had a point.

Today, he does not; he has only a slogan.