Where to lay the blame for failures?

COMING from a working-class background, and who, by my own efforts could now be classed as middle class, I have become increasingly angry at the continued focus on how out of touch the wealthy, and in particular our new PM, Rishi Sunak, might be.

What is it about British people that resent those who have made different life choices and have become successful? I find it extremely tiresome to listen to the constant carping ‘How can someone so rich relate to the man on the street?’

I would argue the reverse. To what extent can we expect the lower classes to relate to those with enormous wealth? Tax avoidance is an issue, but many of us, given the opportunity, would exploit any loophole to avoid paying more into the Treasury’s coffers.

Amidst calls for those on high incomes to be taxed further, there is little recognition of the fact that high wage earners already pay 45% tax, whilst I know a number of low wage earners, or those in receipt of benefits, who work cash in hand or for less hours because they do not want to be taxed. Tax avoidance on a small scale, but avoidance none the less.

We cannot have it all ways. Whilst as a country we continue to navel gaze, looking for someone to blame for the state of our nation, we need to acknowledge that countries across Europe are facing the same problems, albeit not a constant merry-go-round of Prime Ministers.

Times are hard. There are many reasons for this, and no one simple solution. To move forward we should spend our time focusing on positive actions to help ourselves, without reliance on handouts from central government, which we will all have to pay for in the end.

Linda Piggott-Vijeh Combe St Nicholas, Somerset