Energy costs are continually being mentioned as being a significant problem. Rarely, if ever, have I seen any reference to the cost of kerosene which is often the preferred choice for those in predominantly rural areas not served by mains gas. The cost of this fuel has more than quadrupled in 9 years. In early 1999 this could be bought for 10 pence per litre, it is now about 50. How inflation can be considered to be 3% or so beats me. For many people a warm house in winter has become something of a luxury.

Rikki Tikki-Tavi, Lichfield, England

The fuel bills would be easy, The government could cut vat on fuel bills and stop the big business's profiteering from us Oil is valued in dollar's but given the rise of the pound against the dollar, then petrol prices shouldn't have risen so much.
If the government really care's for the people rather thn the big business it's really in bed with then it could act to sort out those issue's now. We are wasting millions in iraq and afganistan a day, but not looking after our own people. It is utterly utterly ridiculous.

charles blake, london, uk

Nu-Labour/Old Labour same old thing, spend, spend, spend, taxes (Indirect stealth taxes) go up, so does inflation, the only ones snug are the growing public-sector workforce.
Trouble is youre preaching to the converted on here, I bet Labour voters will still blame the downturn and credit-squeeze on the yanks and vote Labour in again.

steve, west midlands, uk

How can inflation be approx. 2-2.5% with such high energy prices, council tax bills, petrol price increase of appros 10% in 9 months!!!!
This is a fiddle to keep index linked pension increases down.
Its a hard struggle for pensioners!!!
Harry, Northolt.

H.S.Meswani, Northolt,

Yes, us middle classes are barely struggling to buy our next bottle of Viogner. We can hardly pay for our two holidays a year.

C'mon people. Complaining about money if you ain't broke is ugly, ugly, ugly. Tax is not that much higher percentage wise than it ever has been (take off your rose tinted specs and check it out), or hugely different across the western world, apart from obvious differences like Switzerland or Montenegro.

You are not living in the real world if you think that there is no financial incentive to work. I pay high taxes, I'm happy to work harder and pay more, because the wider picture shows that it benefits the mass as a whole.
You can't take it with you, my friends.

Ezra Mayo, Oxford, UK

For the government to continue to keep reporting that inflation is 2.5% is the repeating of a lie, they know it, and we know it. Inflation was estimated to be at 9% last year, based on the prices we pay for items which are important in life such as food, water, gas, electricity, decent clothes not crappy rags from supermarkets.

We also are forced to pay for retirement pensions for local council staff of which there are many,many millions, this is paid from our empty the bins and clean the drains money known as the Council Tax.

Gordon, anybody with half a brain knows you and your lot like taxing people, its what socialism is good at, at some time the people of Britain are going to explode if your government continues this heavy taxation. Be gone, and don't return, we've all had enough of socialist lies and incompetence.

Phil de Buquet, Newport, England

To all you Labour voters I say this. Continue being an ostrich if you want to but I have decided I am going to switch my vote from Labour ( last 7 general elections) to Conservative. I've had enough of Labour's tax & spend so the Conservatives had better cut taxes and the thousands of useless public sector jobs Labour has created otherwise I won't vote for any party come 2014/15.

Chris, Dartford,

You know you're going downhill when you get ever more laws, bans and taxation, particularly whe they start taxing'fun'.

We need to ditch this lot --- not everybody can work on the public payroll. Someone has to pay for them...an ever decreasing number of hard workers.

Phil, Preston,

Never mind those at work, what about people who have been offloaded in their fifties and because there's no support from the state are having to survive whichever way they can? There are hundreds of thousands of these people.

judy, Liverpool, England

I really did feel I was being taxed to death by Gordon Brown. I made the decision to emigrate to Australia and will not consider returning until Nu Labour are long gone. Gordon gets no tax out of me now. I know so many professional people that have also emigrated, Australia, Germany, US, Canada and France.

Andrew, Melbourne, Vic

We are feeling the pinch too. I find it hard to swallow that the rate of inflation is only 2.5%. Over the last year fuel for heating lighting and transport, and food have gone up way beyond that.

PaulK, THORNTON-CLEVELEYS,

This is part of Labour's master tax plan, to bring the poor out of poverty. The tax burden is and has always been on us for the last 10 years instead of benefiting from low interest rates that money has offset the punitive direct/indirect tax increases and the poor are no better off as fags and beer have all gone up. At least Labour will be happy of capturing another group of people in the social security/benefits trap which will make people beholden to them

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

Britain should adopt the central debt register that they have in some European countries like Belgium. Then this stupidity could not happen in such a widespread way.

Nick Lawrence, Gavere, Belgium

Labour have removed all incentives to work hard, stay married and achieve a good standard of living, working people would be better off giving up their jobs and living off the state recouping a little of what they've paid in.

VJB, London,

The Middle Class have always been the victims. I am sure the chancellor will now think up another tax to be paid mainly by the Middle Classes to alleviate this problem.

Hamad Lone, London, England

There is a danger that thinking poverty is having only one foreign holidays a year, and not affording the latest gadgets, and not having a flash car and endless weekends away. There is always going to be a prcie to pay for encouraging people to spend spend spend. The business cycles are as old as money itself. Personally I think we can still concentrate on building a society that pulls together rather than a mass of consumers who are more interested in interest rates than anything else.

andy anderson, rousse, bulgaria

Labour have taken people through tough times in the past? Gordon, you're the one who has hurt us most with your endless increases in taxation.

martin, reading, UK

In the forces we always said for every fighting man there was 1.5 civil servants on admin, now business, wealth earners have to carry hoards of personnel in non jobs, interferring in the creation of wealth. We have handed over to the self seeking unqualified to make decisions on things they have no experience of. Today there are many MPs who have lived off the state all their lives, and fully intend too carry on doing so.

Wills, Soton, UK

People are already feeling the pinch thanks to excessive tax levels Mr Brown. Council tax is still a larger proportion of my income than fuel costs and is still rising above the level of inflation. If you want to help, stop devoting your effort to claiming credit for (dubious) achievements in the past and instead help us now - cut taxes.

John Scott, London,

Did A kilt wearing fellow once say. "No more boom and bust?"
Or was this just more NuLabour spin?

Mike O Connor, Plymouth,

Inflation feels to be at 9% for those of us not in government. Prescription Charges are not rising at 2% nor are utility bills, Council Tax, petrol, newspapers, food, school fees, or dental costs.

It is clear our living standards are falling absolutely as China advances and that Britain's historic prosperity is entering a secular decline as newer economies advance and replace nations that once-were.

The State claims huge shares of incomes and estates to gorge itself and leaves little for the provident to survive

TomTom, Leeds, England