SIR: The Conservatives manipulated the unemployment figures, by making an astonishing 35 changes to the way in which they are measured. The result of this was to deceive the public, and completely play down any urgency to tackle the problem. Last month the new Government has fulfilled its pledge to the electorate, by publishing new figures that has restored credibility to the statistics.

These new figures reinforce the need for the New Deal, that has recently been launched. Figure fiddling, broken promises and discredited schemes have at last been replaced by a clear employment strategy.employment.

Nick Peel, Exeter Avenue, Tonge Moor

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.