IT IS no wonder Blackburn is like it is when Jack Straw, who has been the town's Labour MP for as long as one cares to remember, thinks that there is no North-South divide (LET, August 24).

Let's look at the facts. Why does Blackburn have thousands of empty houses? Where in the south will you find a similar situation?

Why do houses in Blackburn, such as a four-bedroom terrace property with partial double glazing, not compare with similar ones on offer at £160,000 in Maidenhead? You could buy a row of houses for that in some parts of Blackburn.

Why are wages in the south so much higher -- in many instances four and five times the rate here for similar work?

Why do Mr Straw and his family not live in the North, like many other MPs who have a constituency up here?

Instead of speeding here and there and standing on boxes not answering questions, Mr Straw wants to have a proper look at the town he has represented for so long, not the one presented to him through the local Labour clones. He must look at the real town that people live in.

The majority of towns at the top of the "deprivation league" are represented by Labour MPs and Labour-run councils -- there lies a story in itself.

WALT MEADOWS, Whalley New Road, Blackburn.