SIR: The Chinese Government is currently aiming to increase economic growth by eight per cent. This will mean that even more Chinese goods will be available for export.

The strength of sterling inevitably means that such Chinese goods will flood Britain. I therefore call on all our local MPs to apply pressure on the Government to undertake measures to protect our home market from an influx of Chinese merchandise. The strength of the pound means that British manufacturing cannot compete with exports from China and the wider world, even though Chinese goods are of an inferior standard to British goods. The Government must work to protect British producers, otherwise British manufacturing, which is already depleted, will disappear altogether.

Once again I call on our local MPs to defy political 'fashion' which is all for the global-economy and instead to speak out on behalf of British producers, who make materials that offer consumers a standard of quality that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

A Makara,

Broadwalk, Westhoughton.

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