IT is good to see that in a turbulent and ever-changing world there are some things that you can still depend on. In this case it is the sheer awfulness of the Conservative Party.

In his response to the Queen's Speech, Michael Howard reveals that we spend the first few months of every financial year working not for ourselves, but for the sinister figure of the "taxman".

What the Conservatives fail to mention is that this money actually goes to schools, hospitals and other vital public services that they so neglected during 18 years of power.

As usual, the Tories claim that the British public can have their cake and eat it by promising tax cuts at the same time as maintaining public spending.

Last straw

Of course, the Conservatives claim that these tax cuts can be financed by cutting back on waste and bureaucracy which is precisely what they said between 1979 and 1997 when services suffered and the only people who paid less tax were those earning more than £66,000.

The last straw surely is the idea of a "tax holiday"on the day that the Tories claim we stop working for the evil taxman and start working for ourselves.

Look a little closer and you will see that this would not be a new holiday. Oh no! Companies have already railed against the loss of earning and business that this would entail and so the Tories have said this "new"holiday would actually be the May Day bank holiday moved somewhere else.

So once again, just like flogging off the trains, water, gas, electricity and so on, the Conservatives are giving us something we already have! Smoke and mirrors anyone?

DR MATT LAMB,

St John's, Worcester.