THE issue of affordable housing has become a major political issue. This is one of the few `them and us' type of battlegrounds left, so it's no wonder New Labour's going for it like a ferret down a rabbit hole.

The Tories are being accused of championing yuppy-style homes to such an extent that there's nothing left for the horny-handed sons of toil. I just love this class war stuff - it's so 1973.

So, while the heirs of Keir Hardie lay siege to Fort Grinnall the boys and girls in blue carry on allowing every square foot of brownfield land to be covered in bricks and mortar. When Labour was in power, it did the same, only with greenfield sites.

It's all very well for the `socialists' moaning about people being priced out of the market but I don't recall similar protests when Warndon Villages was spreading like a brick-red rash over the meadows.

So much land was consumed during Worcester's Soviet-style 20-year plan that by the time they were slung out of the Guildhall, there was nothing left to build on. And if the result is homes for the slightly-better-off, don't blame the party in power, rather reflect on squandered opportunities in the past.

l ROB Hobday's forebears probably lived in an area where goblins were supposed to dwell. That's what the `Hob' bit means, you see. In fact, Rob had an elfin look about him and could often be a bit of a naughty boy.

Vandalism is nothing new. One day, Rob hurled a park bench into a children's paddling pool, just for the hell of it. But sadly for him, he hadn't noticed the group of rugby players now purposefully jogging in his direction. The next thing Rob knew was the world spinning upside down followed by a rapid elements exchange of water for air. The rugby players had dealt out some rough justice to a young idiot who would probably think twice in the future. Direct action may not be favoured now, but it certainly worked years ago.

lTHE most noticeable feature of our letters page is the almost total absence of missives from politicians.

People from all walks of life bang on endlessly about any number of topics, yet they are - in the main - routinely ignored by our representatives. If I were a politician I'd be on to the Press all the time. Why are our leaders so shy?