MADAM - I was shocked to read of the walkout by Conservative councillors on the district council (SNJ, March 2) when the "Robin Hood" tax was debated.

This epitomises the attitude of the Conservative party, with their mantra, endlessly reiterated since the days of Margaret Thatcher: "there is no alternative".

There are many alternatives to the misery of the austerity policy of our so-called coalition government.

The "Robin Hood" tax is among the fairest and effective.

Conservatives, however, refuse even to consider any alternative that involves their paymasters – the financial sector – sharing the pain that much of the rest of society is suffering.

The tax would be a start to our nation really being "all in it together".

But Conservatives, locally, it appears, as well as nationally, prefer that only the most vulnerable suffer.

Over the page our Tory MP encourages us to keep fit, as he works for a Government intent on destroying our welfare state, which does much to promote the health of the nation.

Does he not remember that one of the first acts of his government on taking office was to reverse the Labour policy of free swimming for children and pensioners?

A "Robin Hood" tax would have been an alternative to that and addressed our growing obesity problem better than our MP boasting of his "clapping press-ups".

Mary Brown

Stroud