I SUPPOSE it was appropriate on All Fools Day that Coun James Alexander should play party politics on the subject of this country’s required financial support of EU bailouts (Letters, April 1).

He is presumably fully aware that Alastair Darling signed the relevant EU agreement as virtually his last act before the incoming Government took office.

It ill behoves any Labour politician to lecture on economics after the dire legacy bequeathed to the present Government. Perhaps he should begin to question the previous Government’s surrender of our EU Budget rebate and numerous other powers on the altar of the United (Socialist) States of Europe project.

It does suit Labour to have a centralised top-down EU bureaucracy creating interminable laws and obstacles to real freedom and individual aspiration; that is the real nature of the dead hand of socialism.

I believe our EU contribution is nearly £80billion, more than doubling during Labour’s time in office. Perhaps there would be less cause for mass marches accompanied by hypocritical and theatrical rabble rousing from the new Labour leader if we had that £80 billion in our own coffers.

Martin Smith, Hill Garth, Main Street, Elvington, York.