I DON'T know about John Farrar (Letters, July 1) being baffled by Labour's claims to be the party of youth, but I am baffled by his delusions that the Conservative Government are sound managers of the economy, especially when the figures on youth unemployment, which, incidentally, cover students as well, are put under scrutiny.

To answer his charges on the cost of a minimum wage, the issue is not about a rate particularly, but more about eliminating the scandal of low pay from society.

When teenagers discover that £1-£2.80 an hour is the average pay in Britain today for a 42-hour week it is no wonder that, like America - which has a minimum wage and has not suffered noticeable job losses because of it - this country has no reason not to want it as well. As for higher education, those that do go into it find two things at the end of it. First, they are saddled with a loan which may take years to pay back and, secondly, there are very few worthwhile occupations for their talents. That is the reality in Tory Britain.

As for hypocrisy, there is nothing more hypocritical than the sight of the utilities' bosses receiving big pay cheques while the workers in those industries, young and old, receive redundancy notices.

Tories have lately been proclaiming the slogan 'It hurt but it worked.' The trouble is that the British economy has not, as the figures of three million unemployed, hidden by government statistics, prove decisively.

DUNCAN McVEE, Robin Bank Road, Darwen.

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