HOW disheartening that Hugh Bayley praises employers paying the living wage rather than expounding on the need for a living income.

This lack of understanding of the hardships facing many working-class people is highlighted by Mr Bayley’s support for food banks, when he should be outlining his ideas for ridding from our country the scourge of poverty and lack of disposable income.

His apparent keenness for charity rather than dignity for the working class is emphasised by him begging Government to provide money for food banks to give job search advice.

How patronising.

But should we expect anything different from career politicians? I think not if Ed Miliband’s half-hearted attempts at policy-making are anything to go by, especially his insistence that austerity is here to stay.

It could be speculated that if Mr Bayley and New Labour had got their way people desperately seeking food, work, shelter and cash would have been stigmatised further, being added to a national database for ID/entitlement cards. Or is that still to come, Hugh?

End of term report for New Labour... must do much better, see working class for advice upon return from your taxpayer-funded long summer hols.

Tom Scaife, Manor Drive, York.