IN the early 70s I was a proto-Thatcherite, when she was just a twinkle in the eye of the Tory party and a full decade before her government devastated British manufacturing.

As I worked my way up the managerial ladder I believed all the guff about “the trickledown effect” when, in fact, the majority of employers will pay as little as possible, especially to those that actually make the goods.

What changed me, was working in India where I saw real poverty and what happens when the state doesn’t provide a safety net. The experience made me re-assess my life, many of the things that had driven me before didn’t seem to matter. I’d never been motivated solely by money, but I did enjoy the prestige that came with a managerial job, the company car, travel and the perks, but suddenly they didn’t seem important.

Now I’m retired I feel a great shame, as we all should, that in the world’s fifth richest nation more and more of our citizens have to resort to charities and food banks. Instead of being in denial our government should take urgent measures to deal with this crisis.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland.