SIR, Gas prices and other utilities, such as electric, water rates, council tax, price of fuel, doubling the charge for car parking, have all increased lately. When on earth is all this going to stop, for Heaven's sake? It's all very well for the government to make these demands on the British pensioner, but how on earth can anyone survive these extra demands on their purse? Pensioners live on a pittance as it is, leaving very little indeed for food and absolutely zilch for any little luxuries or holidays. Everyone else can expect their take home wage to keep up with inflation. Government Ministers and government departments are quite happy with their lot because they have 9-5 jobs, holidays with pay, not to mention the many perks they enjoy along the way, with no worry where the next meal is coming from. When is Tony Blair going to start considering the welfare of his own people in this country? In particular the elderly folk who were crazy enough to put him in power and fought tooth and nail for this country of ours long before he was born. We are now in the twenty first century and should have made quite a considerable improvement in the conditions for our senior citizens, but I sometimes wonder if this country has moved on from the Victorian era. Perhaps the over sixties should insist on "Pension Power" to demand a better living and not stagnate in poverty like the millions of poor souls in the third world! Margaret R.Bevan (Llanellen)
