The comments from Clare Coghill regarding a new Poundland opening on the High Street demonstrates a lack of understanding as to why these shops proliferate and are so popular amongst ordinary people.

Despite the minor gentrification of Walthamstow there is still poverty and many people living on a budget.

This has been caused by welfare cuts, low wages and job losses. The popularity of pound shops is down to ordinary people on low incomes seeking to buy essential products at a price they can afford. By denouncing these shops as low grade politicians risk alienating the ordinary people who use them.

Daniel Factor, Cleveland Park Avenue, Walthamstow