Gordon Brown, like many of his radical ilk, entered politics to change the world, only to find that the world changed him.
He was elected to parliament to represent the impoverished Scottish town of Dunfermline.
In the 1970s he set out his politics in the 'red papers of Scotland'. He called for the nationalisation of all the basic industries. He sat on committees opposed to the legislation that would have weakened trade unions.
In the 1980s he published an attack on Margaret Thatcher's government "where there is greed". It was an assault on privatisation and the greed that inspired and gained from it.
In the 1990s he got attracted to New Labour, which meant ditching everything he ever stood for.
He wore suits for every occasion, had his teeth fixed, smiled at the appropriate moment and kissed babies at election time. As he climbed the political ladder his salary and lifestyle became much greater than that of the people he represented.
He wined, dined and did deals with the wealthy businessmen and media barons. he surrounded himself with sycophants who held on to his every word.
The late John Lennon, shortly before his murder, described the situation so well. 'The king is not killed by his enemies, but by his courtiers.' They tie him to the throne because their own position depends on him.
Watching Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, stuttering and spluttering as the vultures close in is a sad demise of a hardworking, intelligent man, who like so many well intentioned people before him, has betrayed his roots.

JOHN APPLEYARD
Firthcliffe Parade
LIVERSEDGE



As the tax arguments linger on, I thought I would have my 10 pence worth, so to speak.
I think it is widely accepted the government has handled the tax changes badly, and did not think through the consequences sufficiently. They made a mistake, and I'd hasten to guess that if Brown could go back and undo the tax changes without losing face then he probably would.
However David Cameron is conspicuous in his silence, and I am yet to hear him give any detail as to what he would do to correct the problems caused by the changes.

I saw at his press conference on television last week where he refused three times to answer the question of what the Conservative Party alternative to the 10p tax rate would be.
He repeated that he would reopen the budget, but he never said what he would actually change in it. Would he change allowances, would he change the tax codes, would he bring back the 10p tax band, he just wouldn't answer the question and say one way or the other.
I fear the Conservative Party are happy to make political gain from the government's error, but when it comes to the crunch they will show their true colours and revert to form, doing very little to help the less well off in society. It's easy to sit and heckle, but more difficult to actually do something about it.

Stanley Holdroyd
Thornhill