SIR – Since the ending of the British post-war consensus in 1979 by Margaret Thatcher, all governments in this country, to varying degrees, have pandered to the greed of the minority supposedly to provide prosperity for the rest.

The so-called ‘trickle-down’ effect, however, was always a myth, and while there were some gains for the majority, it can be seen in hindsight it was always the case that some sort of crash, as happened globally in 2008, would bring the whole economic ‘house’ down.

And of course it has been the majority, not those who caused the problems, who have suffered most since.

Today, despite being told that things are improving but with austerity predicted by the Tory side of the Coalition Government to carry on well past the 2015 election, many know by simply looking at their own financial circumstances that something is very far wrong and that unfairness lies at the heart of it.

Many people want to see a new deal which has at its heart the interests of the many, rather than the few. It is a new year, but how long do we have to wait?

David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose