Remembering squalor
Sir: I read with growing wonderment how great the improvement in the 'quality of life' in Britain has been since the late 1970s ('We really haven't ever had it so good', 13 August). I grew up amid the squalor of south London and left England in 1981 with my wife and children for Australia, because we could no longer put up with the unions, crowds, filth, ugliness and meanness of spirit we observed all around us. I am amazed that apparently all this has changed. Our first impressions of the lifestyle available in Perth were very favourable and after an initial set- tling-in period we could not believe our for- tune in finding such a beautiful place to live. We have a wonderful climate, no crowds and in fact have not yet experienced a traffic jam here, and after adopting the carefree, laid- back lifestyle of the locals have never regret- ted the move. We have been avid observers of news from home and we are very impressed by the ability of the Conservatives to turn things round from the depths of those times, but cannot imagine why anyone would trust the Labour Party again. Memo- ries must indeed be short. Not everything is perfect here, because we are still ruled by the 'Lizard of Oz', but Labour here is not the same animal as the British version.
Alan White
16 Henderson Drive, Kallaroo, Western Australia
Previous page
