I want to say how shocked and disappointed I was to read that David Nuttall wasted his first opportunity to speak in the House of Commons by criticising the government for freezing the Civil List funding paid to the Queen.

When he could have been speaking up for the people of Bury North against some of the most swingeing cuts in public spending since the 1920s, our MP chose to try to argue for an increase in the money paid to the Queen at a time when many people consider the Civil List to be excessive already.

This money could be better spent on supporting industry and families here in Bury.

We are obviously not "all in this together".

Martin Hayes Address supplied