MAY I respond to a couple of letters, which appeared on May 26?

Firstly, an anonymous writer made reference to a previous letter published referring to house prices in the 1960s. An example was made that you could buy a property in Talbot Woods for £25,000. More likely to have been £2,500.

I started a career in estate agency, aged 16 at Ringwood. In 1971, commenced working for a Bourne-mouth firm and detached bungalows then were still under £3,000.

Therefore during the ’60s, they would have been less.

During the ’70s, borrowing was limited to about 2.5 times income and, sometimes, could include one-third of a wife’s salary.

That kept prices down. If you knew what someone was earning, you also knew what they could borrow. And for the record, I was on £1 a day, before deductions.

The second letter was from Alexander Lewis who stood up for Margaret Thatcher for selling off council houses on the cheap. A policy which New Labour continued.

It was done to help ‘balance the books’. The Conservatives, as with New Labour, spent far too much and we were in debt. They had to find monies from somewhere.

The ‘right to buy’ was created, leaving us with a short fall of available rented accommodation for those who desperately need a home.

Only last week the Echo mentioned that Bournemouth Town Council have to borrow £45 million, to build more social accommodation.

Mr Lewis admits they made a profit from selling their London council house. Whereas the rest of us had to pay market value and have large mortgages.

It has always been the case with any Conservative or Labour Government, if you are rich or hard up, generally speaking, they will look after you.

But those of us in the middle, get clobbered left, right and centre.

RICHARD F GRANT, Burley