WITH regard to the recent letters about council tax, the demand for the next payment of my tax has just been delivered, at the same time I also received a notice of my state pension entitlement for the year, a pension for which I have paid throughout the whole of my working life.

It is not a charitable payment, as some seem to think and it is a sign of the disgraceful situation and contempt of our political masters in both local and national government have for we pensioners that my increased pension just about pays for my council tax, is this just?

The councils have, of course, increased their demand for more money again this year and we are told we are lucky and what marvellous people those who lord it over us are as the increase is only four and half per cent yet the service we get gets steadily worse.

As we look around our towns and villages we see all the enormous amount of house building that is going on and large blocks of flats being erected where formerly there would have been one or two very nice bungalows, extensive in filling is now permitted and encouraged.

The increased council tax that all this development engenders runs into millions of pounds.

Apart from this vast additional income do not forget the very large amount of industrial development there has been. Business rates are enormous, pouring more millions into the coffers of our rapacious overlords, where does all this money go? Much of it goes in constantly enlarging the wasteful, inefficient self-perpetuating empires of those on the gravy train and they will not give in without a fight, a fight which must surely come before long.

Many of those who "rule" us could not even organise a jumble sale and make a profit.

Some of our councillors have been in office for so long they consider themselves permanent fixtures and should be thrown out.

Many of them do not hold their positions by the will of the people but only because many voters are so disillusioned by politicians and political parties they just do not vote at all and these people get in by default.

An election will be held in May and many independents will be standing for office, genuine people whose only concerns will be those of the people they are elected to serve and to start the fight against the oppression we live under at the moment.

I urge you to turn out in your thousands to depose these long-established tyrants and give new independent people a chance to change the old order, you have nothing to lose and remember - for evil to triumph it only requires that good people do nothing.

F W ESTALL, Hedge End.