HAVING never, in my 80 years, written to a newspaper I felt I should reply to A Jones of Soudley.

Yes Mr Jones, the Labour government did get things wrong and had the decency to admit it.

May I remind Mr Jones the Tories voted with the government to bail out the banks but, as usual, the Tories run away when things go belly up blaming all and sundry as with the Coalition.

In my lifetime the Tories have never admitted to anything going wrong under their watch.

Just a few things to remind you, Mr Jones, of past Tory governments: from 1979 to 1997 we had austerity, a shortage of doctors, nurses, schools with leaking roofs and outside toilets.

Scargill of the NUM waving a list of 67 collieries to be closed. Your beloved Thatcher closed the lot – now we import coal while sitting on 300 years' worth of the stuff.

Thatcher believed you must have high unemployment to have a viable economy and that British workers were lazy. Nothing to do with Tory policy, Mr Jones?

There are always two ways of looking at something but wearing blue or purple coloured glasses you are living in cloud cuckoo land.

– Pensioner, Lydney.