IT seems to me that we have been here before. In 1939, when I was just six and three-quarters, we declared war on Germany. We were foolishly optimistic because the Tory administration had run our defences down to a handful of First World War plans held together with wires and string, an army of untrained reservists, of which my father was one, and a depleted navy. Germany had been preparing since at least 1933.

The present Con-LibDem government are running our armed forces down in much the same way as before. If we were to give up the pretence of being a nuclear power and buying a weapon which we could never use, there might be sufficient money available to maintain a reasonable defence force.

On another subject, Mr P Baillie, a Tory councillor, of whom there is no one more Bitterne than him since Labour secured, by fair means, a majority on Southampton Council, insists on attacking them at every opportunity when they have only been in power a very short time, and using the Daily Echo to do it.

I blame the Labour Party for the fact that we ended up at the General Election with a large financial deficit which has given the Tories the excuse of slashing everything in sight, as they did in the late 80s and 90s which ended with them losing the General Election in 1997 and letting in Tony Blair. Think on.

RAE TILLY, Southampton.