‘Not be as horrible as the last lot…’

• THERE is nothing new about incompetence or even corruption among those who rule us and organise essential services we all must rely on.

And we should resist the temptation of creating illusory golden ages in our past where politeness and efficiency were universal.

However, what is new is the number of us drawn into the seemingly ever-expanding sea of chaos.

The aerated concrete scandal not only plunges thousands of families into serious life-changing dilemmas but also lowers all of our expectations and our sense of security.

Our lives have witnessed a period of more or less unceasing increases in profits – and yet the mood music is: “We must tighten our belts in these difficult times.”

Fiscal probity has turned into careless neglect and the middle classes now find themselves experiencing the effects more usually familiar to those further down the pecking order.

And yet when we go to the ballot box, not a single one of the major political parties that could realistically expect to form a government has the inclination (or the guts) to offer an alternative whereby the wealth of this – the sixth richest state in the world – is more evenly shared among its citizens.

They simply say they will not be as horrible as the last lot. And that includes the Tories who were the last lot – and the lot before that!

KW HOWARTH, NW1