WELL done Shirley Mathias for saying exactly what I was going to write (EA Wednesday, May 11).

We must all be responsible for our own lives. Anyone with an iota of common sense can work out that if you earn just £5,000 a year you cannot afford to pay back a loan of £100k plus interest.

When will the people of this wonderful country, where we have freedom of choice and speech, realise they are giving up that freedom when they sit back and blame everyone else for their own misgivings. For goodness sake, take responsibility for yourselves, you will feel much better and gain that good feeling of self-pride, which is sadly lacking in our society.

While I am on the subject of responsibility,why is Mr Blair expected to sort the problems within the health service? Is it not the well paid hospital managers who should sort out waiting times, and the responsibility of the infection control team to ensure that all staff wash their hands properly, sterilise equipment etc? And shouldn't parents be responsible for teaching their children good behaviour and respect to others?

G D ROGERS

Swindon