Your letters to Gordon Brown

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As Gordon Brown finishes his first year in government, we asked some of our BBC readers to send him a letter telling him about the issue that affects them most and how he can help.

PAUL LAMB, DETECTIVE SERGEANT, ESSEX

Paul wants the government to realise how difficult it is to be a police officer.

Dear Gordon,

Well, it's been a tough year for you.

As a Detective Sergeant in a busy force I must admit I have some sympathy for the position in which you find yourself.

You have been the subject of vilification and accusation from almost every quarter it seems. You have worked long hours with little respite and had to make crucial decisions on little or no sleep. Every time you have attempted to help your fellow citizen it appears that most people either do not want to be helped or do not appear to care.

In fact Gordon, your journey and privation during the past 52 weeks have been very similar to the life of a front line police officer in a busy urban force.

I thought about you a lot whilst marching with my colleagues through the London streets recently. "Why am I here with thousands of fellow officers I am probably never likely to met and share solidarity with again?" I thought as I slowly wound my way past Parliament.

As I look forward to your next year as prime minister (leadership challenges aside) I would ask how you intend to help the police protect the most vulnerable in our society? The elderly, the vulnerable, witnesses too frightened to come forward and give evidence, as well as the teenagers across the country who are frightened of other teenagers carrying knives.

I also wonder what will be going through the mind of Jacqui Smith, your home secretary, as we approach the new pay negotiation period for police officers. Will she realise finally how difficult it is to be a police officer in England and Wales during the next year and give us the pay award we deserve?

Here's to the next year, Gordon, and just like the lonely police constable standing at the door to number ten in the summer rain, smile!

SUZANNE ROBINSON, 52, TRANSPORT PLANNER, BURY

Suzanne says Labour has to listen moreDear Gordon,

After years and years of voting Labour I did not do so at the last local elections.

I earn what I consider to be a good wage - and up until Christmas was able to put money aside for saving. But since Christmas with rising fuel prices and bills there is nothing left. I feel sorry for those worse off than me.

Mr Brown, we need action now on fuel prices. Rising fuel costs are affecting everyone from hauliers to private car owners, from farmers to those in industry. We need to see a cut in the extra tax on fuel.

I am a transport planner and I deal with hauliers everyday and my rates now have a escalating fuel charge per job of 9.4 %. The smaller hauliers just cannot compete now and are going out of business.

You seem to think that every problem will blow over when another problem arises. Nothing seems to be solved and when I look on the news all I see is David Cameron gloating about you and your lack of confidence.

You need to get out as Tony Blair did and speak to the people - the people who put Labour into power. We need to see that you are tackling the country's problems.

SIMON TULLEY, 33, INSURANCE, LEATHERHEAD

Simon hasn't been able to get a mortgage

Dear Gordon Brown,

The cost of houses has been the issue that has affected me the most over the last year.

We were trying to get a mortgage for some time now but it is just proving impossible.

At first we were looking for a 100% mortgage - but now those offers have completely disappeared. Rates are getting worse and worse.

The rate we were offered for a 100% mortgage is now a normal rate for everyone.

All the advice we've had is to give up looking for a house completely for the moment and keep on renting. It seems as if everyone is waiting for a crash.

It feels like it would be easier to go on the dole and try and get a council house - which is not a good message to put out to younger people.

So I would like to see a big push on affordable housing for everybody. Not everyone can afford £20-£30,000 for a deposit.

VICTORIA CARTWRIGHT, 21, SMALL BUSINESS, SHEFFIELD

The slowdown in the economy has hit Victoria

Dear Mr Prime Minister,

Over the past year, two businesses that my and my family run - a pub and a cleaning company - have both suffered in the economic slowdown.

In the end, we had to give up the pub. It is so hard running a small business in the current climate.

Sometimes we don't even draw a wage, just to make sure our cleaners get theirs. I hope to see changes in the future that will help small businesses likes ours.

I'm 21 and have no dependants, work full time - and get taxed more for it. I'm not eligible for tax credits or any other government benefits - which wouldn't be a problem, if the government would just let me keep more of my hard earned money.

I'm not surprised that people would prefer going on the dole rather than trying to get a job - they are likely to be getting more money than I am.

And finally, me and my boyfriend would love to buy our own home, like our parents and grandparents did when they were our age.

We've accepted that this will never happen as that prospect is way out of our reach. But now rent is going up too - when is this housing crisis going to stop and what are you doing about it?

IAN TAYLOR, 28, NHS WORKER, CHESTERFIELD

Dear Prime Minister,

Ian wants more emphasis on patient careAn issue which I think is close to all our hearts is that of the NHS.

I believe we all have a vested interest in the NHS and as an employee it is a issue which effects a great portion of my life.

I believe it is a wonderful institution. However, it is becoming a frustrating experience with the amount of bureaucracy I have to fight through each day.

With so many targets having to be maintained I find that a large amount of my time is taken up filing, rather than actually doing my job.

I also find that any initiative coming from our management is based solely around targets and how to manage them.

There is seldom anything regarding how to improve the way we work. I very much doubt that 60 years ago when the NHS was created this bureaucracy led system is what they had in mind.

I would never want to see the NHS return to the bad old days of the 1980's but there has got to be a change in emphasis where the patient comes first and this change has got to come from you and your government.

You can also send us your thoughts about Gordon Brown's first year in office. <a class="inlineText" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=5024&edition=1">Click here</a> to send your comments.