In response to Councillor John Clark’s claim that people who own cars are rich. Unfortunately this claim seems to be lacking any common sense whatsoever.

There is a difference between a 13-year-old car and a one-year-old car.

There are those who use a car for essential trips (work, hospital, school, weekly shopping for family), and those who simply have the latest model recently sold on the market.

There are different needs and different family circumstances. Just like you cannot put all car owners in one sack arguing that they all are rich.

Most of the car owners own old cars, and even then pay for them taking loans. They never go on holidays, cafés and very often have several debts. In my family every pound is at stake.

If we were living in the forties, your argument might be acceptable, but in the 21st century it’s a superficiality.

By making local people pay more, and more, and little bit extra. I feel, it is asking people to sell their cars. By doing this you would invest in a negative way in our region of deprivation.

Children will not be able to attend any educational or sport activities after school, parents would not be able to get to work, many other people would not be able to get to hospital when it is essential.

Would you then suggest we use taxis? Or could you create jobs for everyone locally? Or maybe you could create better public transport availability for working people at any time? Or would you consider it safe to walk home after a late shift? Or would you prefer those ‘rich’ people become ‘truly’ poor and start claiming more benefits as there are no jobs for them in Wisbech or villages where they live? More deprivation for a deprived area?

You argue that car owners living on Tax Credits for families on a low income are ‘rich’? So then possibly we have to take away all the benefits from people and give people nothing but food so that only councillors are clearly the only rich people in the area. What a future we’ll have with you.

AK

Wisbech

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