MS Geeta Sidhu, Blackburn's prospective Conservative Parliamentary Candidate (Letters, October 18) stated that if retirement age was brought down to 60 for everyone, it would mean people would have their basic pension cut by £20 a week for the rest of their lives.

I would point out to her that since the Tories took office in 1979, the average pensioner is now worse off by about £20 because the Government scrapped the pensions-to-earnings link.

Now that pensions are linked to inflation, they are getting a miserly £1 to £2 yearly increase for single people and married couples respectively. Regarding Ms Sidhu being selected to stand in Blackburn, is it because the town has a large ethnic population which could overturn a small majority of 6,000 with which Jack Straw was elected in 1992.

Are the Blackburn Tories playing the race card?

Blackburn is one of the most deprived towns in the UK with 20,000 unfit houses and unemployment is high, particularly among young people and the ethnic minorities.

Thousands of workers are on low pay and average wages are below £4 an hour.

The Tories don't want a minimum wage and refused to sign the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty.

Blackburn has been a safe Labour seat for well over four decades. If the town's 24,000 Asians are being used as pawns, then this is a negative campaign.

I know the town's ethnic population is not naive. It will look at the colour of the party, not the colour of the candidates.

S ADAM (Mr), Lincoln Road, Blackburn.

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