Letters: In Brief

Sir: Philip Thornton misses a vital point about Carnforth station ("`It looks like the station from Hell'", 24 October). It is at the junction of three railways: the West Coast main line, Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness (and on to Carlisle via the coast), and Morecambe to Leeds and Bradford.

Astoundingly, Carnforth station is unmanned. The three rail operators as well as Railtrack should wake up, and maybe John Prescott can provide the alarm clock.

RAY BRAITHWAITE

Carnforth, Lancashire

Sir: May I point out that anti-abortion, anti-IVF, anti-everything groups are not the only ones who are "pro-life" ("Right of Reply", 26 October)? By using the term you suggest that my supporters and I are "anti-life" when in fact we are more concerned about the quality of people's life than our opponents and so could equally be described as "pro-life". In fact, aren't we all "pro-life"?

JANE ROE

Abortion Law Reform Association

London W1

Sir: Donald Macintyre says that if Tony Blair postpones the referendum, the zealots should pause and think before they complain ("Blair prepares to take the Third Way on electoral reform", 26 October). He may be right but by the same logic Donald Macintyre should pause and think before he complains if Liberal Democrats follow our own interests in the meantime. One of the biggest of those interests is that, like it or not, we must fight the next election against Labour.

All governing parties go into general elections bearing the old Keith Prowse slogan: "You want the best seats - we have them." Since many of us believe that the arguments of principle for this course are as strong as the arguments of interest we can pursue them with honesty and determination.

If Tony Blair does not put a referendum in the opposite scale that is his affair.

Earl RUSSELL

House of Lords

London SW1