I would be delighted to join you at the barricades. What really pees me off is the misinformation publicised on tv by politicians and interviewers alike. This morning on the BBC news and later on The Wright Stuff the winter fuel payment was described as being paid to "everyone over 60" NO IT'S NOT - I will be 62 in February and I have never received it.Danny Alexander was interviewed by Andrew Neil the other day and stated, referring to the last budget, how they had taken God know how many families out of tax by raising the personal allowance to £10,000 - NO THEY HAVEN'T (at least not yet). I receive only the state pension but, presumably because I have worked full time since the age of 15 despite raising 3 children single handed and experiencing all the dramas of child care during the 70s never mind about now, and despite not being in receipt of any benefits, my state pension is still taxable because the actual personal allowance is currently £8300 (approx. How do they get away with these statements without being challenged.The freedom bus pass is available to all those over 60 - NO IT'S NOT I have only just about received mine.At the risk of being branded a racist, in my opinion, if the government is so keen to cut the benefits budget, STOP giving my money collected in tax and NI over the last 40 odd years, to every Tom, Dick & Jacek that tip up in the UK from wherever and are pretty much eligible to claim anything and everything they would not be entitled to in their homeland. Take child benefit for example, over 50% of babies being born in London (possibly nationally) are born to foreign nationals all of whom are instantly eligible to receive child benefits which is a precurser to many other benefits. Not to mention the many immigrants claiming for children that have never even been to the UK. Successive governments of all complexions just can't wait to give my money away to someone other than me and it hacks me off big time.My mother died aged 62 having, unusually for a woman her age, also worked all her life and paying the increased stamp - where did her contributions go? My father worked until he was 70 and deferred his pension which gave him a £1 per week increase when he finally claimed it - he died aged 72. My boss died last year aged 61 (the reason I am now retired) he never even got to pension age - where did his contributions go? Despite miscellaneous governments complaining we are all living too long I am doing my best to polish myself off by being a chain smoking wine drinker which means in itself that I have paid well over the odds in tobacco and alcohol taxes but I remain stubbornly healthy and have yet to become a drain on the national health. I appear not to be eligible for much in the way of benefits after all I was born in Chiswick instead of Mogadishu.
Bernadette Paul ● 4777d