Mrs Perry and rural fuel prices

Sirs

Whilst welcoming Ms Perry’s desire to help reduce the scandalous price of fuel in rural areas I can not help but comment on several of her remarks. She stated:

“There’s a question of spending priorities and the Chancellor chose to increase personal allowance to a record level to, I suppose, try to help families that way.”

The personal allowance increase was surely supposed to increase the money available to the lowest paid members of our society to spend on all their needs and not just to be swallowed up by the increases in fuel price.  This leaves them worse off than before – some help there then from our millionaire chancellor.  Also what are the priorities?  This government chooses, as a priority, to pursue foreign wars, is this really a priority for the the greater part of the public of this country?

Again she says:

“I know we say it a lot, but there is no money – we have to make choices with how you actually spend government money.”

It would be good to remember that it is not government money, it is the money paid by the taxpayers of this country, disproportionately by the less well off.  Again I would say that the vast majority of these taxpayers would not choose to spend it on bombing and maiming people in their own countries.  Ms Perry is part of a government that chooses to do just that, it would be good to reflect on this whilst reading her words.

Yours

Gerald Payne
Marlborough