Letter published in Daily Post

Plaid's pensions policy has been criticised by the London parties. They are bound to do that because they do not priorities the needs of vulnerable people. Instead they prioritise war spending our money on Trident, ID cards and Afghanistan,

What is government for if it does not provide adequately for pensioners and those in need? Plaid has recognised that the pension is not enough and would insist that government spending is prioritised to make sure it is paid for.

This policy has thrown into sharp focus the failings of the London parties who don't seem to care about the vulnerable people in our society. Pensioners are dying because they can’t afford to heat their homes and buy food.

Isn’t it about time we had an election campaign that is talking about matters that are relevant to the reality of people's lives. Fuel prices are high and winter deaths rising steeply. Pensioners deserve a pension they can live on. Is £155 a week for a single person or £205 for a couple too much to ask for? The London parties will say this is not affordable - we say it is easily affordable. Labours think tank The Compass Group in its recent report “In place of cuts” identified 45 billion that could be raised by changes in the tax system and cancelling some large capital projects. The Afghan war is costing 6 billion a year and tax relief for pension contributions for people earning over 150,000 a year is 12 billion. To find 20 billion to do this for pensioners is peanuts compared to the money used to bail out banks. The only problem is to find politicians that actually care.