I NOTE from Mel Stride's column (October 28) that he believes the Comprehensive Spending Review was fair to the poorest. In this he is at odds with the report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which claims the poorest will suffer most as a result of the proposed spending cuts.

In the recent past, Conservative Party spokesmen have used Institute for Fiscal Studies reports to support their arguments.

I would be interested to learn from Mr Stride why he does not agree with the IFS in this instance.

Anthony Scott

Thorndon Cross