Conservatives hit the streets across the area demanding tax breaks for pensioners and savers

The streets of Atherstone, Bedworth and Coleshill this weekend saw an army of local Conservatives descend, led by former soldier Dan Byles, urging Gordon Brown to adopt two Tory tax policies aimed at helping pensioners and savers. 

Shoppers in the three towns were met with ranks of local Conservative activists armed with petitions and balloons – and Parliamentary Candidate Dan Byles says he is delighted.at the response.

Speaking after the event, Dan said: “We had an incredible response to our petition on Saturday, with hundreds of people signing our petition. Local people recognise that pensioners in particular are the forgotten victims of Gordon Brown’s recession. Many are on fixed incomes and rely on the interest from savings. They are really suffering, and the Government is doing precious little to provide practical help.

“That’s why our teams of volunteers were asking people to sign our petition calling on Brown to adopt two Conservative policies to help pensioners and savers:

To abolish income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers To raise the personal tax allowance for pensioners by £2000

“These two practical measures would go a long way to ease the financial burden on local pensioners, with almost 2 million people seeing a real benefit across the West Midlands alone.

“Gordon Brown has borrowed us into this recession, and he seems to think he can borrow us out of it. But our savers and our pensioners, people who have been thrifty and tried to put something aside for their retirement years, shouldn’t pay the price for Brown’s mistakes.

“It’s time to change from a culture debt to a culture of savings. And it’s time to change this disastrous Government.”