Labour’s pains

In HIS criticism of Michael Kelly’s article (Perspective, 1 December), David K Allan mentions Dr Kelly’s craving a Labour government, but he could have gone on to say that Dr Kelly does not trust Labour’s present leadership, or the unions, to act with sufficient vitriol against the rest of us (Letters, 2 December).

The problem Dr Kelly has with his catalogue of grievances in the public sector, of the dreadful conditions, and long hours and low pay, and the struggle to survive, and the pensions issue, not to mention poverty, is that Labour had 13 years in power to solve all of these

But where Dr Kelly is on really thin ice is on an issue he chose not to mention: Gordon Brown’s £8 billion a year “windfall” tax on pensions funds. Furthermore, had the £8bn not been levied, the whole pensions regime would have been on a more viable basis.

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And with the accumulation over its 13 years totalling £104bn, Labour’s 2010 public expenditure deficit of, say £150bn, would have been £254bn. Why is it that pain inflicted by a Labour government is acceptable?

DOUGLAS R MAYER

Thomson Crescent

Currie, Midlothian