RE your story today regarding the power bills claimed by MPs in this region (LT, November 2).

Is it really any wonder that people are sick and tired of the “Snout in the Trough” ability of ALL MPs irrespective of the party to which they are attached, it is sheer greed that MPs on such high salaries (compared with the average working man or women) are able to claim their power bills to be paid by us... The tax payers.

They get train and travel plus car allowance in full, telephones and internet in full, travel all over the world to inspect God knows what (but always to a hot nice places) fully paid by the tax payers, suits, clothing, food and drink, entertainment, employ their families, and still get around £66k a year, plus pensions that we mere tax payers can only dream about. WHY?

What difference are they from normal wage earning taxpayers, when you run a small business, if you try to claim anything for personal expense you find that it will not be allowed by the HMRC. Why are MPs any different, they are still only working for a living?.

And now we hear that Jack Straw’s son is wanting to become an MP. What sort of life and work experience can/will he bring to the table, has he ever started work at 0600hrs and worked through the day until 1800hrs. He will only know one six o’clock and that won’t be AM.

No one can justify such a person being put up for a serious MP for Northern working class voters, to think otherwise is an insult to all working class Northerners and stinks of political intrigue and favoritism.

Peter Blackburn Walden Road, Blackburn