WE English are a tolerant people, we hear this all the time from MPs and civil rights people, usually in connection with immigration.

I think tolerant should be changed to stupid. Where else in the western world would people put up with the injustices we do?

The quality of treatment on the NHS depends on where you live. Prescription charges rise every year, yet if you live in Wales you wouldn't pay any.

A recent rise in domestic fuel costs brought very little comment, despite the hardship it will inflict.

Children are coming out of school unable to read and write, but we can to give English lessons to immigrants, some who have been here 20 years or more, at a cost of £900 per head.

In Scotland you get a grant to go to university, but here you come out with a millstone of debt around your neck.

The elderly, pensioners and disabled are treated atrociously with services cut and old peoples homes shut weekly, all in the name of cost cutting. These people worked all their lives and paid into a system that disregards them once they stop paying taxes.

Council tax goes up every year, yet we seem to get less for it. Councils look to the electorate as cash cows.

This government brought in the minimum wage, a good thing and long overdue, but this rate is now the norm for most jobs, whatever the skill level. Out of this paltry rate we are now being told to save for our old age, when most people strive to live day to day.

People are flooding into this country, overwhelming NHS and education systems. These people are much needed, we are told by MPs and contribute billions to our economy. I and every other person I have talked to, seem to take an opposite view.

This is not racist, but genuine concern that this country, despite being one of the richest in the world, has limited resources and money should be spent on the residents of this country who have paid their dues and are continuing to do so.

STAN MELLING, Kingsway, Lower Darwen.