[West Ender]

There is a, so called, poverty line and I am continually reading about British children whose existence falls below it but this latest argument, in itself, denies that. There are those who don't work or who earn very small wages but, though ready cash may be in short supply at times, few go short of such "essentials" as TV sets.

I don't wish to accuse those who are genuinely struggling but I witness, daily, people (usually young women with several children) arriving at the local tax office demanding emergency payments of Tax Credits. "There's no food in the house", is an often heard complaint but half an hour later you'll see them in town eating a Big Mac while talking on their mobile phone.

That's poverty?