Letter: Brown economy

Sir: Gordon Brown's announcement of extra New Deal places is simply not up to the task it is meant to address: dealing with unemployment.

Of course it is an advance that the Government recognises unemployment as something that must be tackled rather than applauded as the Tories did.

And, yes, the New Deal is about providing people with the skills they need to get jobs rather than job creation itself.

Even so, in Haringey, which in Tottenham has the parliamentary constituency with the highest unemployment in the country, people placed in work as a result of the New Deal so far have barely reached double figures.

Mr Brown may have better intentions than his Tory predecessors but while he sticks to their economic policies, he is still not doing anywhere near enough to save and create jobs.

If money which is wasted on arms were used to create jobs, if working hours were cut to the same effect and if action were taken to stop factory and office closures, then the New Deal would start to make sense to the ordinary Labour voter on the Tottenham omnibus.

KEITH FLETT

London N17