May 1: Did the coalition do the right thing for pensioners?

I NOTED with interest William Hague’s recent remarks, and I quote: “If we are re-elected, we shall continue to protect the vulnerable and OAPs.”

Since the coalition came to power in 2010, the Metro fare for OAPs on trains has increased from 50 pence to half fare. So a journey from Halifax to Leeds or Ilkley has gone up by approximately 400 per cent.

The winter fuel allowance was for the over 80s and £400 but this has now been reduced to £300. For younger OAPs, £250, reduced to £200. Also the lowest rate of income tax of 10 per cent was abolished. The lowest rate is now 20 per cent. The personal tax free allowance, which previously rose annually, was frozen which has affected me (and as there are over 11 million pensioners in the UK, there must be millions in a similar situation).

So, I have a British Rail pension which is indexed and it has risen yearly. In April 2012, my monthly gross BR pension was £265.03 and net (take home pay) was £255.59, so I paid £9.44 income tax per month. Now in April 2015, my monthly gross pension is £271 but my net pension (take home pay) is £249.54). Just over £6 less than in April 2012 so I now pay £21.46 per month.

Average earnings are around £26,000 per annum. But my State and BR pension in total are just over two-fifths of average earnings, i.e. about 42 per cent.

So I would say to all pensioners, think very carefully before you vote – you could be voting for more of the same.

From: M Dobson, York.

AS the leader of the party that committed British troops to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without a discernible post-war plan or exit strategy, it ill becomes Ed Miliband to castigate David Cameron for his government’s part in, what was, a multi-national action to encourage the democracy movement in Libya and implying that he, in some way, is responsible for the current refugee crisis.

The majority of the refugees attempting the boat crossings are, in any case, not Libyans, but Syrians, Somalis and Ethiopians fleeing from conflicts in which Britain is not involved and using Libya as a staging point.

That said, when are we, as a country, and the West in general going to stop interfering in the internal politics of other nations and trying to force on them, usually not for the better, our values and ideals? In that respect we are no better than Isis/IS.

They may have been brutal dictators but if Saddam and Gaddafi had still been in power would we now have Isis in Iraq or boat people in Libya? I doubt it.

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme, Holmfirth.

BRITAIN entered the 20th century as the most wealthy and powerful country on earth, and with the biggest empire the world has ever seen.

We then squandered our substance in fighting and appearing to win two World Wars (from which we could have stood aside) and ended up both losing our wealth and power and as a supplicant, pleading to be accepted into the European Empire which Germany, the country we had beaten in both wars, had successfully created.

Unless we carefully study the past, we shall continue to make such appalling mistakes – which leads me to fear that this 21st century will prove to be no better (although hopefully not quite so catastrophically tragic as the 20th).

From: John Fisher, Leeds.

I WRITE to inform your readership that religious organisations in the north east Leeds area recently organised two hustings where the public could hear and address the candidates for that constituency.

The organisers should be thanked and congratulated on their efforts to provide this local democratic forum. These events were congenial and civilised so I would suggest they become more common and to some extent replace the excessive media comment and political shows.

From: M P Laycock, Harrogate.

TERRY Palmer (The Yorkshire Post, April 27) finds it “tedious” reading about “the last Labour government ruining our country”. He prefers to blame “profiteering bankers”.

It seems to have escaped his notice that it was Gordon Brown who did away with a largely informal system of Bank of England supervision that had protected the soundness and reputation of British banking for over 150 years. He was very happy that banks were making huge profits so long as their taxes were helping to pay for his massive increases in spending.

Gordon Brown’s actions left Britain seriously exposed to the US sub-prime banking crisis (itself largely caused by US politicians intervening in their housing market). Mr Palmer is also wrong to accuse Margaret Thatcher and John Major of destroying “every industry we had”. Newspapers during the 
1960s and 1970s reported one strike or industrial dispute 
after another, month after month. These disputes left large parts of British industry unable to compete successfully.

From: Max Nottingham, St Faith’s Street, Lincoln.

HOUSING is still a mess in this country 70 years after World War Two. Youngsters need parents with monster piggy banks just to raise a deposit on a house.

The generation which put men on the moon cannot put a reasonably priced roof over our heads.