"I voted Conservative. Britain was in a mess and Labour wanted to spend their way out of it."

Face it, Bluesman, Big Al has correctly identified you as a snob - and that's why you really voted Tory. You have decided that certain sections of the population are 'inferior' to you and you have decided that they need to be punished for their 'inferiority'. You believe that the Tory party is the party which is most likely to punish your 'inferiors' with the degree of severity that you demand.

And what happens after your 'inferiors' have been chastised, Bluesman? Surprisingly, perhaps, I tend to agree with you that the dependency culture that has been created in the last few years is problematic. But it was created by a toxic combination of the stupid political ideologies of both Right and Left, and punishing the victims of welfare dependecy won't achieve anything - except dangerous social unrest.

Labour was at fault because they are smug and self-satisfied authoritarians who think that they know what is best for the poor.

The Tories were at fault because they are addicted to the 'Free Market','Choice' and 'Self-Regulation'. In other words the rich should be free to choose to get richer, and richer and richer at the expense of the rest of society. Again, Big Al has correctly pointed out that these toxic notions led to the death of British Industry and mass unemployment - or rather 'real' jobs, with decent pay and conditions, have been replaced by a few poorly paid, exploitative 'McJobs' with few prospects for advancement.

The answer to our problems is not to punish the poor but to start to hold our elected representatives to account for their actions. And that means being much more critical of their stupid 'theories' and ideologies.