I agree with the the person in Erskine Road (Guardian letters, February 13) that the council in Waltham Forest is always wasting money.

They also do not tell us the truth about what they are doing. They give out a free newspaper for all people that live in Waltham Forest. It is complete rubbish and full of pictures of Labour councillors and telling us how good their party is, not real news what is going on. It tells us only what they want us to believe. And actually it is not free because really all the people that pay council tax are paying for it. A few weeks ago I had a newspaper put in my door that said electricity and gas companies are putting prices up, but there is no increase in council tax. It is not true. They are making more people pay than had to pay before.

A lot of people that live in this borough, the very poorest people, they have not had to pay council tax before. Now they have to pay. So that is a very real increase in council tax. About £200 pounds each year that they all have to pay now from almost no money. And this year these very poor people, and many of them are sick or even dying, they are told they have to pay even more. Twice as much as the year before.

A lot of poor people get benefits money that is only £5,000 a year or even less, and they have to pay this council tax out of such a small amount. But people that are better off or even very rich or lucky to have a job that pays good money do not have to pay more! That is not right or fair.

Maybe the council think that if you are poor then you cannot read, or maybe they think we are all stupid, else why they put this lie in their rubbish newspaper? Maybe they think poor people will not bother to vote.

This stupid Waltham Forest News should be closed down right now. Why do we have to pay for it? If we want to know what is going on here then the Waltham Forest Guardian is free press and is not run by the Labour Party that says one thing but then it does another and it lies to us and makes poor people suffer here.

I want to have free press and know real opinions in where I live.

Robin Bjarnisson, Walthamstow