SIR – I am grateful for Mr Pollard (Letters, October 21) for his selective history lesson and even more selective view of the current state of the UK economy.

While massive inflation was roaring away throughout the 1970s, Mr Pollard, with predictably typical Tory mindset, seems to believe that the workers (those who produced all the wealth in those days, incidentally) should have wrung their caps and been grateful for a pitiful, and below-inflation, pay rise (just as the bankers do today, eh, Mr Pollard?).

The crisis of 2008 occurred because of the deregulation (actually decriminalisation) of the financial sector which Thatcher initiated in 1986.

When the Tories were ‘elected’ in 2010, the economy was actually beginning to grow. There was no financial crisis, but the Tories ‘talked up’ a crisis anyway, and used the fear it created to go to Tory default setting, like slashing public spending, massive borrowing, privatisation, support for corruption, tax breaks for the rich, taxpayers’ money given to bankers etc (aka redistribution of wealth – upwards). If Mr Pollard really believes Osborne is doing such a good job, he should demonstrate his confidence and place his savings in a High Street bank account.

Christopher Hindle, Osterley Grove, Bradford