Do councillors live in real world?

- reader’s challenge

Dear Sir

I do not usually write to people like your good self, but I felt obliged after reading your recent news in your blog.
I think it’s disgraceful that once again the people are being hit by the excessive rise in allotment rents. The cost of living is going through the roof at the moment, and the price of food rising almost daily, and now many people are losing the ability to grow their own food to cut the cost.
On top of that the council are talking of reviewing the parking charges and possibly charging people for parking outside their homes.
Have our councillors any idea that many people need a car to go to work and they are on limited income? If they have to pay for parking outside of their home, they may be forced to get rid of the car and in turn lose their jobs.
As it is I rarely go into Boston, and will do so even less if the parking charges are increased, which means there is a strong possibility others will feel the same and in turn more shops will close. Boston could well become a dying town, as if it isn’t already.
On top of this we are told that the Mayor’s allowances will be dropped to around a £1,000 per week. Pray tell me, what does the Mayor actually do other then be a ‘figurehead’ to warrant this type of cost?
Would it not be more economical to get rid of a Mayor and put the money saved into the council coffers rather than hitting ordinary people who are struggling at the best of times? You don’t hear of any councillors, Chief Executive or managers working for the council taking a sufficient cut in their salaries; indeed the councillors had an inflation busting increase just this year.
My husband, who works locally, is paid well under the national average and has not had a pay rise for three years.
Do our dear councillors live in the real world? Have they any idea what poverty is, or do they think that anyone who has less than three holidays a year are ‘poor’?
Have they ever had the choice of having to turn off the heating and live in a cold, damp and mouldy home so that they can feed themselves and family? Or do they believe, as most utility firms do, that turning off a light bulb here and there will save money. Oh, I wish it was so simple. My electricity bill per quarter never changes; I cook and have a shower, use a computer, television and have an occasional light on, so please tell me how I can decrease it from £130 per quarter. If anyone insults my intelligence by telling me to change suppliers I shall scream. Been there, done that and worn the T-shirt. Trust me they are all the same.
The ordinary working class are struggling, and perhaps our said councillors and people who rule our country should remember who put them in to office and not use every opportunity to screw us to the wall. It may even be a good idea if they went out and actually talked to their constituents - as if that is going to happen!
I know many people who will not go into Boston for a night out and would rather go out of town because of the problems that they meet and you can ‘feel’ the tension in the air. Boston is a tinderbox just waiting to catch light and the councillors putting such pressures on Boston is not going to help at all.
One just hopes that someone in authority has some commonsense and also knows what it’s like to live in the real world and to understand the needs of the ordinary Boston person.

Yours faithfully

Carole Norton [Mrs]


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