I support West Sussex County Council leader Henry Smith's position on the council tax burden on hard-pressed residents.

Along with my West Sussex Conservative parliamentary colleagues, I have vigorously lobbied the Government to fight the huge shift of financial resources from the South East and its serious and unacceptable impact on council taxpayers.

Since the Government came to power, average council tax bills have increased by 60 per cent, equivalent to a 2p rise in the basic rate of income tax.

As Councillor Smith clearly underlined, these rises have hit some of the most vulnerable people in West Sussex.

Under Labour, a third of the basic state pension increase for the typical single pensioner and a quarter of the basic state pension increase for the typical pensioner couple have been taken up in council tax increases.

This represents an intolerable and unaffordable burden on pensioners and I give the council my full backing in its call for a pensioners' rebate from central Government.

-Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex