Why is 'tax' being presented as such a dirty word by the outgoing (Tory) government? I have paid every penny of direct and indirect tax for which I have been liable since 1943 as well as all due social insurance contributions. In return I have seen my son and my daughter better educated than I could ever have afforded otherwise and we have all enjoyed superb healthcare - more than once life-saving - and that's only two main items. I am a satisfied customer of the shop of state; there are millions of us in the same position even if we think that some of the money could have been spent on our behalf rather more wisely and much more ethically.

Of course if taxes are set too low you can't expect decent service and if they are set too high there is too little incentive to work and earn; obviously! But the range between these extremes is quite large enough for all parties to agree that taxes should be as low as possible but as high as necessary and to disagree constructively about the optimum level and appropriate incidence of taxation.

I find it very depressing that one of our major parties proceeds on the assumption that we are all so myopically selfish as to welcome low taxes per se ...... while another major party pretends that their programmes for better services have no explicit tax implications.

I find it encouraging that the Liberal Democrats have the integrity to say 'this is what we think needs to be done and the tax implications must be accepted as the due price.' I can do business with people like that.