I read with amusement the letter, Labour are on the right road (Oxford Mail, March 16), and am baffled as to the hard work MP Andrew Smith has demonstrated in the field of pensions.

He has shown a spectacular ability to do nothing to enact, influence or implement improvements to the UK pensions problem.

His selection as a minister was no doubt influenced by his record as a 'yes' man.

At no time did he raise his head above the parapet to fight for pensioners, but was content to watch his best friend and boss raid the corporate pension funds, allow corporate Britain to put these pension funds in a parlous state and to stand by while the cost of living outstripped pensions.

He also voted for an illegal war in Iraq in which British troops have died. Tony Blair harps on about the country's safety, yet Gordon Brown is stripping away the ability of the RAF and Royal Navy to provide adequate patrols of inter- national waters around us.

Police forces have been starved of adequate funding, also restricting our ability to ensure we have security within our borders.

Under Labour, British financial institutions have got away with irresponsible mortgage lending, pushing house prices out of the reach of the bedrock of Labour support.

Labour is working hard -- to ensure that the most vulnerable remain so.

Vote out Mr Smith, you'll be doing yourself and the country a favour. We need people who will represent Oxford East in a positive way. Andrew MacGregor, Burrows Close, Headington, Oxford