that would be nice - go to university, mebbes meet a partner, leave, get a good job - well paid - but not enough to get a mortgage, think about having kids but decide we can't afford it, work hard for years - while relationship suffers due to career commitments, eventually save enough for a deposit on a 2bed flat - we've never had it so good - a big thank you to all our elders for this wonderful nation we've inherited

Lets see some adventurous policies concerning opportunity 1) replace the Monarchy with an elected representative 2) Complete the replacement of the unelected to the House of Lords 3) make the selection criteria for Oxford solely based on the grades obtained and not the private school/privilaged upbringing as it currently is. When these things happen perhaps real opportunity will filter through the nepotism thats support the governing British Oligarchy of today. I would join Labour if there were any socialists left in it, but I doubt I'd even get a remark about these points.

I keep reading Labours comments on opportunity for all then they start about disadvantaged families. This is not opportunity for all and kids in areas like mine are being discriminated against because it is a small affluent town. We don;t even have a playground for the kids. you go past the schools in council areas and they have state of the art playgrounds and after school activities, around here there is nothing. The reason a lot of the kids are disadvantaged is that their parents can't get off their backsides and do a days work, instead they choose to claim benefits and spend it on the wrong things.

Reading some of the stuff on here I'd say a lot of people need to return to education, what the NHS got to do with education. The problem with Labour idea of getting more people in Uni and all the rest they put the charges onto people, not the Tories Labour, my cousin has just finished and had a great degree, she is now working in a low paid job, because if she went higher up the pay scale she have to use most of her money repaying the debt. Tony Blair and brown had free education right through, but not anymore, Blair decided we are all able to pay, then brought in grants and all the rest. simple you want educated people then education should be free for everyone. How do you pay for this well do not build anymore nukes.

Well I can read and write mate sadly it's obvious you cannot, as for a council estate you should know mate. your from an area run my groups of thugs called the BNP British Nut party.

I like the plans to increase the availability of the full maintenance grant. Combine this with the abolition of tuition fees.

What about old people? I don't have any kids and neither does a large percentage of this country thinking that religion is worthless. I pay my taxes for kids and foreign people coming into this country. I am seriously hacked off that we should pay taxes when we die. Don't we pay enough? What does the NHS do for me? My Dad died of cancer at home because there was no NHS hospital to provide comfort for him. I would rather be given the choice of democracy of telling the NHS to get lost. I want the democracy of choosing not to pay national insurance if i wish. It is my money that i have earnt and I wish to use it how I want to.

please bear in mind that you and i will still require those people/kids to fight for this country in times of need, or will you and the rest of the "im all right jacks"insist doing all the dangerous work yourselves

Ok so you do not pay National insurance stamp, your not paying to wards the NHS, you then cannot have any dental treatment unless you pay, no pension when you retire not even a state pension, if you become sick you cannot call a doctor, because most area's do not have private GP's you cannot go to a hospital unless you have insurance, once your treated for say cancer BUPA will refuse to treat you again. So what are you going to do, ok I see your rich so paying £350 to have a private Doctor treat you is nothing. Thats what demoracy is all about your either in or out.

hi I would like to know why the KCC and The KSS are shutting down the Queen Elizabeth Fandation at Dartford the two of them are stoping the funding for the centre the center is for disabled people it helps up back to Equaulty (this is the year for equaulty)but is it this center premotes independent living and get disabled people back to work it was the same with metal hospitals put the people into half way houses got kick out of them they stopped takeing there pills where did they end up back in the NHS same as metal handcaped kids they can go to normal schools now they find out that did not work the centre is a life line for all the members there the careers will not get a brake and in the long run will cost the NHS more the the funding for this centre yours Kevin

The government wants to improve education. Does that include improving sex education and education about not using drugs, smoking or binge drinking? Does that mean instead of having teachers reading from faq-sheets, we will have people close their age coming into schools, sitting them down and talking to them on the same level? Having someone they can respect and relate to, talking to them frankly and openly about sex, drugs, smoking and drinking? Does that mean we will tell them the truth about sex and make it out to be some tabboo? Does that mean they get told the good side of sex, and not JUST the bad stuff? Is it possible the government could learn to treat them with respect, and not like idiots and push them into doing all this stuff because they think its cool to break the rules?

I though this was about education, I see the same tripe getting onto these forums again, Muslim anti Muslim we are talking about education. Lots of other forums around to discuss the problems of faith or what ever stick to education.

il admit labour do have some good policies they just dont care about the lower class and never will why should we be governed by a group of upper class who have no regards for the lower class????

WHAT WOULD THOSE BE THEN?

Robert. Labour have been the most redistrubutive political party this country has ever seen. Your wrong. WRONG WRONG WRONG!

yep you are certainly right there the labour party do not disciminate on the south 1 billion for the dome] 9 bill for the olympics £500 per roll of wallpaper for lord falkers office yes we in the north have to agree the labor party is not slow on spending on there favourite area's can anyone show what the north has received or is it not worth bothering to vote labour as the either dont know were the north is or could not care less and prefer to stay where the action is

Yep i totally agree great if your poor or an imigrant,but if you work hard and own your home they hate you.

yet another tough stance on crime by labour a man was found with 150 pictures of indecent material of children on friday and wasnt even asked to sign the sex offenders register and will be allowed to work with children still metro paper ?????? and to mr ive never had a gun or a knife near me well i have and its not very nice people know these days if they commit a crime labours layed back stance on crime will stop them doing excessive amounts of time in jail so are they bothered no

This may not be the correct site for this, however as I have emailed Gordon Brown and had no reply, I will comment here. Born, Dumbarton 1948, now living Ferndown, Dorset. Although my father and grandmother were Labour Party voters all their lives, I followed my mothers side and voted Conservative. Over the past few years owing to issues with my 29 year old daughters health and subsequent passing to rest, I have become increasingly frustrated at the hype from central and local government, it is not much more than hype because nothing is feeding through to the "troops" on the ground. I have joined the Christian Socialist Party in January this year, I am becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of finanical support for the area in which I live, I am resident on a medium sized semi urban housing estate which has a number of social issues, a substantial number of low academic achievers, a reasonable number of young people not in school, as they are challenging young people the authorities are willing to leave them to wander the streets. Then arrest them and serve them with ABC's or ASBO's Because our electoral ward is part of an area of high cost private houses and either large salary business owners or high income pensioners ( 3 ex chief constables are supposed to live on the surrounding area, this affects us within the mass indices of depravation. I worked with Dorset Youth and Community Service where I designed and developed a motor vehicle skills training programme for young people, this programme ran for two and a half years, then owing to local authority ineffeciency the programme was suspended, now we have a building, which was paid for by local council taxpayers standing empty for the past 15 months. I am now trying to raise funds to erect a new workshop.

i agree it took us 6 years to get enough money to buy a scanner for blackpool victoria hospital (acquired by local fundraising) now we some special equipment so that it can be used by children. cost is approx £100000 does the governemt help? no chance theve never even hear'd of us mind you im sure those same children will have plenty of attention when they are old enough to fill up the armed forces and as they go to conflict they may be able to look back on what the country/laboor party has done for them.... not a lot

There are a number of issues raised in the discussion board. I think Gordon Brown has done a great job already in his short time in charge. He's made the morally correct decision of flattening the supercasino plans. Well done. Finally, I'm starting to believe that politicians have some morals. Celebrity culture and politics just does not mix, which was the big turn off around Blair. The UK is one of the greatest country's in the world. The tolerance of others of different creeds/colours is noble; the opportunity is there for literally anyone to take an idea and turn it into pots of money with good old fashioned hard work; most of our cities are great places to socialise; the healthcare is, although slow, pretty goodin most places - and free, compare that to the US; People bang on about crime, but how many of us have been victims of knife or gun crime in the past 10 years? I know I haven't. The single biggest thing that is wrong with our society is the dispicable media culture which promotes fame and external beauty at the expense of moral actions. A media which puts the fear of god into its readers everytime there's a crime somewhere. A media which has no limits anymore. by a Brit of asian origin

An interesting article of Jose Manuel Barosso's take on the freedom of speech and the 'right to offend' which I agree with unless it is inciting violence against individuals or a group. +++++++++ Europe's citizens must be on their guard against political correctness and moralising politicians, says the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. The former Portuguese premier and centre-Right politician is concerned that freedom can be the loser in European culture wars over climate change, cheap air travel, Islam and free speech. “WE should be aware of people who sometimes for good reasons, try to establish what I call private moral codes, for this or that, be it climate change, religious behaviour or any kind of social behaviour," he says. Mr Barroso, a former Maoist student firebrand who fought against the Portuguese dictatorship in the early 1970s, still regards himself as a freedom fighter, even when the calls for bans or restrictions are in a worthy cause, such as global warming or respect for Muslim communities. "I was 18 years old when a democratic revolution came to my country. Before we could not read the books or listen to the music we wanted," he says, speaking in his 13th-floor office in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. "I am radical on these matters. If there is an excess of freedom, it is better to have excess than less." Europe has been deeply divided over controversies surrounding Islam. Violent protests on the continent, in the Middle East and in Asia followed the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed and the Pope faced calls to apologise after a speech on theology and the origins of Islam sparked international controversy. But Mr Barroso backs the right to offend. "We have to show respect for all communities but the fundamental right of freedom of expression is for me more important than other collective rights," he says. Growing up in the Portugal of the 1960s, Mr Barroso remembers being compelled to wear quasi-military uniforms. "I hate uniforms," he says. His own personal experience of authoritarianism has made him wary both of those who are seeking to ban the wearing of the Islamic veil and Muslims who require girls to cover up. "I think the UK has the right approach. The veil should not be banned just as girls should not be forced to wear it. "People should be able to choose what clothes they wear - as long as they don't go naked of course." As the European Union prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome, Mr Barroso insists that the rights of the individual, within the law, over moral strictures from either secular or religious communities, are sacred. "Shall we respect the rights of a community to impose, for instance on a girl, a specific way of doing things or shall we give primacy to the rights of the girl, or it could be a boy, to choose?" he says. "I have no doubts. In the Europe I want, the right to choose has primacy."

How can the muslims feel that they are part of this society when out going prime minister gives a gong to salman rushdie and when there is song and dance about it the politicians start saying it is british matter therefore no body else has the right to interfere so what about iranians building their own nuclear power is that not their own matter

Oh grow up really. Freedom of speech is a universal right no matter who or what someone says

freedom of speech is a right is it not when people are preaching hatred and terrorism maybe one day when you experience it first hand you might agree

So its acceptable for the BNP party to preach hatred towards other ethnic groups (even though they deny it)? I'm sure Muslims and other ethnic groups get offended by such words, but you dont see them blaming all white christians and assuming we all hate them. You also dont see members of the BMP being chucked out the country.

The BNP has its 'respectable' clothes on these days as it tries to reach out into the community and gain votes. Their real intent is confined to back rooms and out of the public gaze as much as possible as they know that what they intend for this country is repugnant and unwholesome. Their new found respectability reminds me of anglers who place a nice tasty piece of bait on their hook, hoping that unsuspecting working class whites will bite it and only find out what they have done when the hook is securely swallowed.

Exactly! The only difference with Muslim extremists and the BNP is that the Muslims express their views allowed and in person. It may be disruptive and scarey and intimidating, but atleast they dont hide behind the scenes as you say. The question should be.... what would happen if the BNP did a public protest against Muslim immigrants and demanded they be exiled and incouraged hatred towards them in public? Would the government throw them out the country?

I think that anyone who incites others to be violent towards others should be arrested and punished whether they be BNP or Muslim or whateever. If the BNP held a march calling for Muslims to be 'repatriated' through changes in the law, then I do feel that they have a right to do that just as Muslims have a right to hold a march calling for sharia law through legal actions. However, if the BNP called upon people to intimidate or bully or the Muslims to do similar actions, then I would round up the ringleaders and imprison them whatever their colour, creed or political leanings.

The problem is that if the government suspected the BNP of preaching hatred and inciting violence, the governme (even if they did it in full public view). The chances are the ring-leader would then only hand-slapped and his name tarnished. Yet if a Muslim extremist makes a very public statement about invoking violence and hatred, the parliment is up in arms and demanding they get thrown out the country (but dont actually do anything either).

You are kidding, the system blocked out "..nt would want hard evidence"? This filtering system takes no prisoners!

In Europe, mosques exist and so they should. But can we say the same for synagogues and churches in many fundamentalist muslim countries? The answer is no and I would like to know why.

Simon, learn some history. Islam is probably the most willing to accept multi face. When Christians took Jerulselum they attempted to rid it of all other religions. When it was taken by Islam they respected other religions. Also - guess which country is consitutionally bound to have Jewish representation in Government - Iran. SO yes both churches and synagogues exist in Muslim countries

You obvu=iously do not know Islam. I have studied it in detail in bith its historical and theological context and found true Islam to be a wonderful religion and I folow some of its teachings within a secular framewrok. I learnt the value of our role as 'Kalifah' or guardian who looks after the planet and tries to make it a better place on behalf of Allah amongst other things and I try to practise this through my approach to the environment.

(Im not an expert, so I could be talking absolute rubbish here) What no one ever appreciates is that we live a very different life in the west compared to the the East. Here in the UK and America, we have very easy lives compared to that of Eastern countries. We have all this fancy technology and sciences that make our lives alot easier. We are almost ignorant to what the rest of the world is like. Alot of eastern countries have it very hard, and have known nothing but civil war, death and fighting for centuries. Their entire history and relgion is filled with people trying to control them and control them. Trying to force their beliefs upon them. Even now we have George Bush trying to force democracy upon Eastern countries that might not even want it. We dont appreciate that these cultures have grown up knowing nothing but hostility and its the only thing they understand. They only know how to express themselves by being loud and threatening. Its not acceptable ofcourse, but we dont realise how easy we have it in the UK and the US. The Muslim faith has been twisted by a small minority, because of that culture of violence. You interpret teachings to better suit the environment you live in. If you live in a hostile country, then you will interpret things you read to justify that violence.

Most willing? The Church in Saudi Arabia is living under the most difficult circumstances. The regime has declared the entire Arabian peninsula 'haram,' forbidden to all other religions, and it is enforcing this prohibition strictly. Freedom of religion does not exist. The Government prohibits the practice of other religions, be it in public or in private. http://www.opendoors.org/content/saudipro2.htm

what about single parent families and people on job seekers who only get 40 pound a week to live on whats labour gonna do for them

At a guess 1. More support, 1st rate education for their kids. 2. Help them get a job.

there are plenty of places people can do free english and maths courses nowadays so i dont see the big deal even colleges are offering free level 1 and 2 english and maths thats one good thing labour have done

I am an ESOL tutor and work at a Basic Skill Centre. I would like to raise an issue about fees for ESOL that has been troubling us. We have been informed that as of September ESOL students will have to pay fees to attend English classes at the centre. The nature of these classes is that they are, along with Literacy and Numeracy and special needs assistance, a basic skill that is a free provision made to help students achieve a better life in the UK, integrate into society and become valued members of a community. We are segregating ESOL students by making them pay fees whilst all other students can continue to attend their free classes. Surely this is creating a further division between the English and non English speaking students? Many of the ESOL students feel separated from the community and have to deal with difficult situations and feelings of being 'outside' society as it is. They now feel that this difference has been additionally highlighted because ESOL students are being discriminated against and penalised because they must pay for their basic skills class even though they are well aware that their English colleagues in the school will continue to attend for free. How can we separate an English speaking person who wishes to improve their level of English from a non English speaking person who permanently lives and works in the UK and also wishes to improve their level of English? If ESOL is classed as a basic skill why is it being treated differently?

On the one hand, I can understand that there are people who come here to improve their English and this is the case for quite a number of Eastern Europeans where, back home, skills in English are now greatly valued indeed. Have you noticed that your Polish students are quite probably the best attenders and more dedicated to improving their English than most? On the other hand, when somnebody comes to this country to live, it is to their credit that they wish to adapt to the way of life and adopt some of the ways of the majority, indigenous population and language aquisition is a most posiitve step towards achieving this. Otherwise, ghettos will form and cities will become yet more fragmented into small linguistic enclaves, which is not a desirable situation in any society. To my mind, I would be tempted to keep these courses free and lobby the European Union for extra funds on the premise that it is the enhancement of European culture and a way to promote multi-lingual skills in the EU; something that is very close to the aims of the EU. Britain pays a lot of maney into the EU and it does seem sometimes that British organisations do not do enough to secure finaces through the many funds that the EU has to offer.

why doesnt he pay people a proper wage its one rule for the rich and another for the poor if the government had there way the poor would be shipped off to a desert island and as for the justice system on the news yetserday a man got 2 year for abusing kids thanks labour for your tough stance against crime

What do you mean - under the tories I worked for £2 an hour. I think the minimum wage needs to go up but I'm very pleased we've got it!

go up by what though 20p or 50p its no good people should get 8 pound an hour minimum wage simple as why should ppl work for a pittance maybe if it went up more people would work but when your paying 50 pound a week rent and only getting 150-200 a week then you have gas and electric and food your working for nothing arnt you????

I would say that one of the posiitve things about today's labour governement are the various tax credit systems they have which help greatly to top up thenincome of families on low/modest incomes. If you take that into account, the minimum wage in this country does go up significantly and it is a step in the right direction. I would criticise the party over how it operates as fluctuations between years can create debt as the final decision is based on what you earnt in the previous tax year.

Yeah it should go up. It'd cause huge inflation if it went up that much though wouldnt it?

how about rich tax thats a good idea tax the rich and put it back into job experience or training courses childcare,tax footballers that would pay for the unemployed alone

gordon brown makes u turn on super casinos while his countrys unemployment levels continue to rise becuase of forign labour he makes super casinos for the rich wow is this not tony the failure brair re-incarnated down with brown

I would like to wish the postal workers of this country all the best of luck in their struggle against job cuts and an effective pay cut (below inflation). As we already now, these people are low paid as it is, work in all weathers and have seen their livelihoods continually threatened by the actions of this government in respect to closing the post offices and pandering to big business by granting franchises to private firms.

i have to agree with you mate.these youg and older post workers deserve at least pay rise in line with inflation which is allready doctored by thatcher and then subsequent governments

build more houses why so we can house more immagrants while people live in cardboard boxes why should we destroy our country building houses and factorys and car parks????? dont we have enough

I would just like to say how pleased I was to here Labours rejection of the proposed 'Super Casino' so called 'regeneration plans'. At last some one has seen sense. It gives me restored hope in this government and seems to make clear the real differences between Gordon Brown and Blairs leadership. A cause for real hope in the new Premiership. How anyone could think this was any real solution to city regeneration I do not know. If you were to draw up a list of ways to regenerate a city, surley this would not feature. Shear short sightedness and greed on behalf of the people envolved.

How can this restore your hope when it was their intended plan in the first place? If a man pulled a gun on you and then decided not to shoot after all, would you think that he was a good man after all? These people were negotiating with casino racketeers in Las Vegas at one point and I hardly need to mention the kind of money that is invested in such places over there. Gambling brings untold misery, wrecks marriages, ruins families and makes parasites rich. How a party that was originally founded by honest, upstanding socialists could end up stooping so low as to even consider this idea defies all belief.

Good Lord , let me please spell out what needs to be done for housing. Now take note as it might be a bit tricky for all you politicians to understand. OK , pencil ready. BUILD MORE HOUSES NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT IN 13 YEARS TIME!!!!!!!! Ok , did you get that? DbD

i would move out of britain tomorrow if i could afford to, what happened to small businesses in this country? they have been elbowed out by rediculous taxes, i have a small business with nowhere to turn now that times have got hard, no grants because we are an existing business no tax relief v.a.t is rediculously high, and the only way out i can see is voluntary liquidation, and then i lose everything, i put my house up as calateral i ploughed all my savings in. we cant get gredit for under an outlay of 4 or 5 grand per week i dont take that much in a week the banks wont help as i already owe them money, so answer that one mister brown , small businesses were once the back bone of this country, i struggle to pay the morgage that i took out on my home to open the business in the first place,its not fair my other half is sick because of the worry we work fourteen hour shifts 6 days a week and10 hours on sundays, because we cant afford staff, my daughter works for me for next to nothing so that i can clean cook and look after the house in general, what do we do answer me that, i am lost.

My heart goes out to you. We most definitely do not live in the age of the small man anymore and large corporations run the small businessman into the ground with fierce competition, economies of scale and government support. Your daughter is a credit to you and sounds as though she is a model of everything one could hope for in a daughter. I have been told that to succeed in business, one often needs to be ‘coy’ in certain regards during the initial stages and start to be less so once things get off the ground.

I started an ecommerce site a few years ago - not exactly ebay or Amazon but quite good. But there's no way that we could of survivved the first few years and months without tax relief.

surely ppl must realise that these policies are a diversion from the real issues in our country terrorism and crime and poverty,the goverment expect people to go and work for a minimum wage while the rest of the country get a proper wage and they wonder why so many people are unemployed people who go to war for our country get a pittance a footballer gets more for kicking a ball than a soldier gets for risking his or her life weres the sense in that????

Footballers get paid so much, because we live in a commercial world and teams would rather buy the pretty boy and pay him 1000s to play for them, because it gets publicity and interest. You could have a really great unknown footballer out there somewhere, who would be happy with a 10th of what they earn, but because their unknown they wont get the media and dont get hired.

and as for grants for schools and that gives refugees more excuses to flood our country take our college places our homes our jobs im uneducated because of teaching in my day its took the government 16 years to sort that out how long will it take them to stop terrorism and crime a lot longer than 16 years unless they act now and act tough there just another broken promise

Then why don't you take part in some of the fantastic free adult education programmes - get some knowledge behind you and realise that a)we have a duty to help refugees, b)there really aren't that many refugees coming into this country

There has, nonetheless, been a huge influx of foreign nationals into this country over the last few years. There are 600,000 Poles alone now living here.

i agree with the no sale of alcohol to people under the age of 21 but will it work no as the kids will stand outside the shops waiting for people to go in as they do now so yet again another issue from the government that will end up in tatters like most there policies these days

What people dont seem to get, is that ALL shops now check ID you if you look under 21. Some even have signs stating that. They also check EVERYONE for ID who buys alcohol as standard. It will make no difference if they increase the legal age because you will still have young girls who look alot older then they are or they will get older brothers or friends to buy it for them.

Dear Sir/Madam Whilst I agree that The NHS,The Education System, and Opportunity for all are good aims for The Labour Party to aim for , surely the main emphasis of the Labour Govrnment,should be to make a fairer tax system and tax the high earners more and provide better benefits for those unemployed and in need.There are 1.68 million people unemployed in this country chasing 638,800 vacancies, which to my calculations means that 1,041,200 people will be unsuccessful in obtaining employment and will have to survive on minimal benefits and those unemployed have to be accountable to the Jobcentre for Jobseekers Allowance,by way of giving evidence of seeking work in order to get ANY benefit at all!. Does this seem fair? Does it matter whether The Government has to foot a bigger Social Security Budget. Surely if the Government taxed high earners more then this would pay for a better benefits system for the unemployed. The Economy cannot be doing well if poeple are offered the minimum wage of £5.35 per hour and have to make up their money by working long hours, relying on overtime. Employers will only pay as little as possible in order to meet their aims i.e.Profit. I do not know whether you are avware, but many of the jobs offered by The Jobcentres are those from private employment agencies who employ people on temporary contracts in the hope of obtaining permanent employment. Employers are only concerned with efficient management of the workforce and have no obligation to retain employees when the work is completed. They utilise employees as if they were an entity, not people(The term Human Resources springs to mind). Tony Blair thought that the unions were irrelevent, forgetting that they are or were a major contributor to the Labour Movement. He betrayed The Labour Movement by not thinking of the ordinary person. Not everyone is able to take up opportunity, one reason or another, and those who are left are at the mercy of the Labour market and a minimum wage of £5.35 per hour. Employers have no conscience over using people for their own ends. Those left on the 'dole' are forgotten. Also State pensions for the elderly to rely on, are abismal.( about £80-90 pounds per week). Surely these are the main iussues that The Labour Government should be fighting for. The Economy should be judged by it's Social cost i.e. those who lose out. It is for the strong to help the weak. The Conservative Philosophy is for people to help themselves and not count the cost or be concerned about others. The Economy should be planned to help those in need. Also Government spending should be planned to create jobs by way of National schemes i.e. Nationalisation,and not left to the private sector to solve. Most of the privatised services do not a better service because their are exorbitant profits made for little value e.g.The Railways,British telecom, and The Broadcasting services. Surely if these industries were to be Nationalised then the government could plan these services in a more co-ordinated way. If industries are left to market forces then they will be profit led not led by need. The Labour Party and The Labour Government should be thinking about the needs of the people of this country not about how entrepreneurs can make a quick buck at the expense of those in need. The private sector does not deliver according to people's needs. Does anyone else agree or disagree? Yours, Paul Oborne.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. Some things are better off in the private sector, but things that are common to all such as energy (elctricity, gas and wind farms), public transport, education etc and used by all for the common good should be public owned and I am highly disappointed by the way that New Labour has shown cowardice and not brought these things back to where they belong. And, yes, there should be laws on unions and I agree with the idea of balloting members on strike action. But the boot is still too much on the employer's foot and the employment rights in this country are tantamount to modern day slavery compared to other countries in Europe.

I think it is great that financial support will be given to students so that it is easier for them to study at university. However, I believe that financial support should be given to all students wanting to study because it isn't how much your parents or guardiens earn it is how much they are willing to support you, this is the same for EMA. Backgrounds should influence decisions but household earnings shouldn't be a major factor.

I am tired of politicians from both sides of the house talking about opportunity when they clearly do not fully understand the meaning of the term (as they are trying to use it) or are getting extremely bad advice. To have fair opportunity for all you need an equality of persons we do not see in this country. Politics and the economy are also ran with a lop-sided view of liberty where negative liberty is embraced while positive liberty is ignored. These two factors combined with trying to provide fair equality of opportunity against a libertarian background of unrestricted capitalism mean all attempts to close any gaps in society will fail. The only measures that can change society so it benefits all its members not just the elite are to extreme to even be considered by politicians. A fairer distribution of wealth, a maximum wage and so on. How do you find a way to stop society punishing children because of their parents poverty? It is not the childs fault yet they are excluded from society by their parents poverty. I have spent six years researching this exact topic and have just submitted a 60,000 word thesis on fairness, social justice and how it relates to the opportunities available when one fulfils the potential ones native endowments allow. Furthermore what about students who are brillient at degree level from poorer backgrounds will they get help with academic progreession to post-graduate? Currently PhD's are not given to those with the academic ability but rather to those with the financial ability to pay for it.

Is this listening thing a way of suggestions for the future because hollywood wages staff cannot come up with new methods/schemes,etc?

Building opportunity for all. Schools have been given billions of pounds to spend on the education of our children over the last 10 years. This investment has shown a huge improvement is GCSE and vocational exam results and more and more young people are leaving secondary schools and going on to further education and then into higher education. What worries me though is that most of the initiatives that have been jobs in the pastoral support sector of schools are at risk as most of this funding will end by March 31. 2008. Schools at this point are not sure who they may need to make redundant, what sort of funding will be available even to the point of will they be able to employ mentors and support assistants come next April. This situation is very un-nerving for the support staff not knowing if they will have a job next spring and therefore put them in a very uncomfortable position to look for new employment when they are currently happy or to wait and take the risk of redundancy. I urge those in the power to make concrete decisions on this matter and inform the LEA’s and schools on what will be done next year after all we all have known the funding stops in 2008 for about two years now. It is peoples lives and the continuation of good practice in our schools that is at risk.

It is good that labour want to help less advantaged kids into further education. but how are parents like me & my wife both having to work me full time & my wife as much as possible during the 3 hours my child is in nursery. Just so that we can make ends meet. Yet another rise in Interest Rates council tax etc etc etc... no wonder there are so many people off long term sick with back strains & stress! What do they expect us to do. I have had just about enough of paying extortionate taxes and fees mortgage rates, to the extent im so stressed im not wanting to get out of bed through exhaustion... Way to much pressure is put on parents these days, parents going off the rails getting drunk taking drugs to avoid the way this country is, i can understand why they do it. Children need good parenting, parents who are "able to save" so that they can gladly send their child/children on to further education. Not parents who work 24/7 just to pay off taxes, can't afford a holiday, not able to afford dental treatment etc etc...

Dear Mr Denham I think you should lobby to make it illlegal for landlords to refuse to, let to DHss clients , If you look in the Echo which I'm sure you have you will see thaty thier baltaqnt about not letting . I became homeless early this year I had had a room for 7 years and my landlady had to refurbish to comply with Govenment specifications , I was given no help from the council in fact hanfdeled in a chevalier fashionh I also wittnessd on every vulnerable young man treated similarily , If it were not for dead mens shoes I would not have benn able to get a place ( at double my previous rent ) I also left a letter for Mr Brown , who says he listens at the volunteers centre the day he visited Southampton , I never recieved a reply perhaps his minions witheld it from him would you like to trace that down , also I e mailed Mr Brown and he seems to have used my quote of ''Many a flower born to wast its sweetness etc , i didnt get a repy to that Either . I think all the talk about University numbers is redicuolous , a as Ive read of so many tranee doctors not being able to find wiork along with nurses , physiotherapists 20 of those cost £2, Milion to train them and also Ecologists mentioned on radio $ none got jobs from a large class and I thought that we were all suppose to be enviromently aware . I think the only way the major issues are going to be fixed Housing , Employment , education , Health and en masse out of control immmagration is if we actually do have a Bird flu plague Ps Do remind Mr Brown about my latter all talents being recognised !!!!plague to take the numbers down

hi, having worked with young people and the disadvantaged the latest remarks about social awarenss by david cameron leave me very angry when this govt.does not have the understanding of the prolems that alcohol causes amongest young people we need to firstly reduce the outlets from were there sold secondly remove cheap and nasty spirits ie vodka brandy etc,secondly ban after shocks make the maxium vol.5% and anything above that tax it to the hilt.wether these measures are adhered to i dont no but having seen over the last five years the alarming rate of alcohol abuse we must do something now.finally challenge the amount of soaps that regularly show people drinking at an alarming rate.i hope this will give this govt. something to think about.p.s act now rather than later it is a vote pleaser and winner.

I fully agree with the idea of making absolutely sure that alcohol is only sold to people of 18 and over and strengthening this and there is maybe a case for not allowing spirits to be sold until people are 21 or over as they can do a lot of damage if abused by people that are not aware of their own limits regarding alcohol and do not apppreciate the strength of spirits. However, I do take acception at further meddling in this area. There are already laws concerning being 'drunken and disorderly' in public places in the country's statute books and it is just a question of the authorities enforcing with more vigour what is already there. Therfore, the possibilty to prosecute those who engage in anti social behaviour whilst under the influence of alcohol and deter them from doing it again is possible and it is a question of applying these laws in their fullest possible form. 'Cheap and nasty' spirits; you obviously do not appreciate the amount of care and dedication that goes into making a fine cognac or smooth vodka. There is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking these in sensible measures and it really is up to individuals whther they drink these or not. It is also the choice of soaps whether they depict drinking or not in their stories and provided that they do not glorify bing drinking in the early evening, they have every right to do do.

Having worked in a couple of shops in the past I can assure you that any upstanding supermarket will do EVERYTHING they can to make sure they DONT sell anything with an age limit to anyone under that age. Not just because its obviously illegal and wrong, but also because the person who sells it can be fined, loose their job or the entire store can be closed and the company charged. There are VERY strict rules and regulations inplace for protect against that kind of thing. But its not actually great to have an endless number of items with different age restrictions on them. Its confusing and it can result in selling items to underage childen. For instance, did you know you cant sell red-bull (a non alcoholic drink) to under 16s? did you know you cant serve a policeman while on duty, but you can one who is off duty? Knives you have to be over 18, pain killers over 16, alcohol obviously over 18 (but most check over 21), tabs are obviously over 16, deordarent is over 16, spray-paint is over 16 (I think)...... the list goes on. Its not easy serving in a shop when you have a HUGE selection of items with age restrictions on them. If you then started to mix up the age limits for certain alcohol, it would make their lives ALOT more complicated and people would make mistakes. The age limit for alcohol is fine at 18, because most shops check if you look over 21 anyway now. The issue is we need to remove this booze culture attitude from kids, but it wont ever happen. We had this "drinking culture" long before we had television and radio and adverts. We have been a culture of drinkers for centuries, and kids have drunk underage for just as long.

As a father with two children, I welcome these changes. Its hard enough raising children in our world, and parents need all the help they can get. This starts with the schools, the future of my children depends on this country's willingness to invest in education. I just hope everyone sees that. I know Gordon Brown does.

I am not agsinst investing money in education by any means. But I have had experience of an educationwith only a timy fraction of the money that goes into the education system here and it still turned out highly educated people with a great knowledge. There was a cuklture of learning though where all levels of society revered learning and you never heard people speaking like some people do in Englsnd about 'these bloody students blah blah blah'. Also, there was good discipline in the schools and parents that demanded that their children show respect to their elders. These are qualities that no money, targets or governement strategies can attain and, if this governemnt is to make our taxes effective in the schools, it must empower teachers to be able to take action against misbehaviour and to make life difficult for those kids that make the difficulties for the rest of the school.

Gordon Brown continually talks about higher education and I think this is the right approach. If we want to stay competitve internationally higher education has to be available to all that qualify, not just the most intelligent or wealthy. Economic growth and competitivness is based on knowledge and information, Gordon Brown understands this. Higher education for all or else we will suffer in the future!

You have built opportunity for Muslims and continue to do so. I will build opportunity for Christians and will continue to do so.

I dont understand how you have concluded that Muslims have some kind of advantage in education? Would you mind explaining that one!

Why not just have opportunities for everybody irregardless?

The ignorance remains! Border, border,border! Unless you make sure we are free in border control....we are dooomed!

I seem to have completely missed your point here? Is this something about border control? And you talk about ignorance, yet your the one who later made a post about Muslims have advantages in education! *rubs chin*...

If I can bring the discussion back to getting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education: To give those young people a chance of doing so, we must look at the built environment. Far too many of our towns and cities have great swathes of green shuttered properties sitting awaiting demolition and/or regeneration. Living in such an environment is not conducive to stimulating opportunities in education. Such environments simply keep people ostracized and alienated from the rest of our society where others readily access opportunities of education and employment.

It would appear (if parts of the media are true) that some universities are lowering the barre for youngsters from less affluent backgrounds or less prestigious schools. It certainly sounds a lot easier than the monumental task of trying to look at the underlaying problems in such places and to tackle them face on.

Labour and in particular Gordon Brown, are very quick to point out that this is country is currently in the longest period of continual growth in its history, but I am concerned that this coincides with the highest levels of debt, highest numbers of home reposessions - does this not mean our growth is false growth and our economy is therefore built in false economy. As someone who has lost thousands on a house sale and is currently heavily indebt, despite earning a good amount in a good job, this concerns me deeply because more and more people will end up in uncontrollable debt.

I think that you are right. The country is existing on consumer debt that will have to be paid off at some point. I seem to remeber learning that something similar happened in the 1920s America where borrowed money was being used to invest on the stock market, creating a big financial bubble that was pricked in the Fall of '29. Coupled with an almighty drought across the North American continent that went on for much of the 1930s, the world was plunged into depression. Of course, things don't happen like that any more because we've got New Labour to look after us now.

The news about Uni fees are great - my only problem is that I paid tuition fees (which I thought was fair) Now I have to pay extra tax as well as my student loan - aren't I paying twice?! Doesn't seem fair does it? Credit where credit is due though - my counsin has just started at the school I went to as a lad and its a hell of a lot better- loads more resourses and much smaller numbers in each class. LOVELY!!!!!

Have I read the above right? From what I can gather here, the labour Party are bringing back the grant system that they abolished a few years ago. If this is so, I applaud it as a step in the right direction and a positive move towards enabling people from poorer backgrounds to achieve social mobility and have a fair chance in life. However, the idea of everybody going off to university has always seemed ridiculous to me as there are only so many people for whom a university education is appropriate and the only way that I could see 50% of the population attaining a degree successfully is by lowering the academic standard of degrees. In this country, there is an acute shortage of skilled artisans and this is proven by the difficulties one experiences when household appliances or domestic installations go wrong in terms of waiting and the high charges incurred. Instead of packing everybody into universities irregardless and ultimately bringing standards down so that another meaningless target is hit, they should be thinking about apprenticeships for many youngsters where older artisans are paid to pass on their real life skills to the next generation.

I agree that having everyone go into University isnt an ideal situation. As you say, not everyone is suited for that environment. Plus we end up with lack of people in labourering jobs (sorry dont know the correct term). But being a student myself, there is more to University then just the education. Its a great place to learn confidence and self-respect and how to socialise with a wide veraity of people. Before I went to university I had very little confidence and had virtually never met someone of a different ethnic group. Your also forced to work for yourself and meet your own goals. You dont have teachers forcing you to do your work like you do college. If you fail at somethings, its your own fault and no one else. You feel the consiquences. Its not all a walk in the park. I would recommend everyone try University given the chance, for those reasons alone. You also make friends and get a good opportunity to move out and get independance.

A good learning experience in many more ways than one. It sounds as though you had good lecturers where you went to. Ones that resist the temptation to spoon feed which, from what I have noticed, is a weakness of the English education system.

Well I have no complaints about Northumbria University. I would be surprised if there were any lecturers in any Uni's that spoon-fed their students? Most lecturers I've known basically tell you to do your work or you fail! I would always stand by University as being a good life-experience, and not just about education. Hopefully this will help more people experience it.

That is good and how it should be or else how are people going to survive in the world of work. I was sickened when Tony Blair stopped grants altogether and felt that it was like people who have had a hand in climbing up the ladder stamping on the hands of those younger ones following behind them.

Im generalising when I say this, but the fact is that most MPs are from middle to upper-class families who can afford to send their kids to any University and pay all their fees and board. Alot of them live with their heads in the clouds and have no idea what its actually like to live down on earth. This is what happens when you have the lardy-dar oxbridge educated people running the country!!! This goes hand-in-hand with my belief that a country being run by 30-70 year olds cant possibly understand every aspect of life, especially what its like to be young. We have people running this country who are completely out of touch with reality and what its like to be in working-class or to be subjected to anti-social behaviour, and crime and bed educations. They get adviced by their "experts" who supposedly understand it all!

Hi Having read most of the above, about education? Not all students are academic some are practical, but as practical skills do not count in league tables these students are left by the wayside. It raises the question are the political parties governed by business? It is less expensive to employ cheap labour from the new E.U. countries than an aprentice trained crafsman educated to their full potential while a student. The same happened in the 50s people from abroad o do work that the British did not want. I found the "streaming" of students in the 50s a very good way of developing a full and varied workforce, and there was still a place in society for those that did not achieve Uni status. The tradesmen are still required in this country. The house building programme of the Labour party suports this argument. Where are the tradesmen coming from! E.U. and wating another generation of young people

I do agree that its not great if everyone studies academics, because we end up with less labourers! But I still stand by University being a key part of a persons development, not just as an education but also as life experience. But as you say, not everyone is cut out for those kind of environments. Maybe its time we university courses that covered more labour intensive subjects like building, plumbing and alike (if we dont already).

These new EU countries have a wonderful work ethos and their artisans are hard working, skilled people who are able to tackle even the hardest of jobs thanks to their flexible approach and determination. This is especially the case of Poles who have had to survive much hardship, but who ahve still retained their integrity, culture, language and dignity as a People. However, it is not ideal that so many feel the need to come here. I am sure that it must be a terrific drain upon the Polish economy where their taxpayers have effectively lost out in paying to educate their young without a return in their social investment.