I SPENT an afternoon in Central Hall at the Pensioners Forum.

There I listened (at length) to our “City’s leader”. What I heard was a year of woe. Of woe for us and for him.

His closing point, of which he claimed to be proudest, is that the pensioner will have a 5.2 per cent increase – while everyone else presumably has more or less the same percentage of a decrease.

What he meant, of course, is that we pensioners should be jolly grateful we are not suffering as younger members of society are.

Well I have news for him – the 5.2 per cent is no real increase for that is the rate of inflation for this year.

And we pensioners know of it only too well. The elderly (and the poor) spend most, if not all, of their money on essentials. Meat, bread, milk, eggs, vegetables have climbed in price from one shop to the next weekly shop. I have taken to buying supermarkets’ basic own brand in order to make ends meet.

I live in a tiny one-bedroom flat and pay the council almost £10 a week for some limited heating.

I have to pay another £12 a week for the rest of my electricity needs.

Thus I am paying in excess of £80 a month to service this tiny flat.

Also we are seeing our services wither away, seeing our civilisation that we’ve worked for since the end of the last war torn apart by Government and councils.

I watch and listen in amazement and horror at the antics of the banks and financiers. Watch and see the heads of firms award themselves vast sums of remuneration which the rest of us could only dream of. I can’t even find any decent language to describe the tax dodgers.

Everyone thrashes around to put the blame somewhere, well it’s not on those who do an honest day’s work and those who are hopelessly looking.

At least the last Government spent money on the people.

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