Letter: Concern over Index of Poverty

Dear Sir or Madam,

   I am concerned with the recent release of the office of fair tradings index of poverty in the north west. There have been plenty of other articles on the same matter with the majority concerning child poverty. All the articles make for bad reading, Burnley is rated 4th on the Index for the north west region with 29%; marginally behind Liverpool topping the list on 33%.

   Yet what do we hear from our Lib Dem MP and his cronies on the Council? Not a whisper,they should be hanging their heads in shame because if anything shames a town more than child poverty I'd like to know about it.

   What can we expect when the coalition government enthusiasticly backed by our Lib Dem MP makes drastic cuts of such magnitude. There has been 11,000 families in Burnley taking a reduction in their family credit, plus 15,000 families seen their child care payments reduced; and with the cost of living going through the roof we then have Birtwistles favourite tax hike; yes folks VAT. Bertie campaigned strongly for this burden and every job lost in a family means that entire family will be affected financially.

   The people of Burnley deserve better than they are getting and if money had been spent on the public, instead of squandering millions of pounds on pulling buildings down ie derby pub, houses on Melrose... there is just not space/time to detail everything.

                                      Burnley Resident.