I would like to support the letter by Ian Morris (Postbag, July 27).

I have just returned from a trip which included the former East Germany, and I was surprised by the number and style of new houses that have been built there.

I do not begrudge the people their new prosperity - they had a terrible time under Communism - but their houses are built to a higher standard than we normally get in this country, and the local unemployment rate is 16 per cent, so how are these houses being paid for? Are EU funds involved? Alternatively, if Germany is nearly bankrupt, as is rumoured, then have our gold stocks been examined by the EU in order to subsidise consequent later expenditure such as pensions, much higher than ours?

Muriel Pushman (Postbag, June 29) is right, but unfortunately we seem to have lost the war financially, and when Tony cooks up his referendum the chickens will come home to roost unless the population here shows some backbone again.

G Bishop, Malvern Wells.

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