Letters: Angry pensioners

Sir: Your report (9 April) that a leading Labour activist is calling for a boycott by Labour Party members of the coming European elections should be heeded by Mr Blair.

Ten million pensioners, many of whom worked or voted to get a Labour government elected in 1997, are infuriated by broken promises that the state pension would form the foundation of retirement income and that they would share in the prosperity of the country. We are being patronised with gratuitous handouts and an increase in degrading, expensive and inefficient means testing.

Unless there is a sudden change in attitude by this government, senior citizens will have serious reservations about supporting an administration that treats election pledges to this generation of pensioners in such a cavalier way.

CLIFFORD FULLER

Gloucester