I listened to Gordon Brown's keynote conference speech, in which he proudly boasted about Labour's record towards OAPs.

He mentioned that his party had been the first to give TV licences free to pensioners, and they had given them pension tax credits.

He went on to mention a host of measures that his party has brought in to help pensioners.

It made me wonder if his party were also the first party to imprison 70-year-old ladies for failure to pay the latest rise in our local authority tax, currently known as the Council Tax. Instead of taking such steps as to lock up OAPs, wouldn't it be fairer to pay OAPs a decent pension in the first place, so they could afford his exorbitant tax rises? This would remove the need to imprison people in their twilight years.

This government are a disgrace, much the same as the previous Tory governments. They proudly claimed to us: Things will only get better well, when will they?

John David

Gilnow Gardens

Heaton