Each year since Tony Blair came to power hard-working people have had to hand over more and more of their earnings to the taxman while shirkers have enjoyed an ever-rising standard of living funded by the state.

We've all heard stories about the people who live a comfortable life doing nothing but - until the Packet last week published an exclusive story about a woman in Camborne who receives over £500-a-week in state handouts - I doubt that anyone could have imagined just how bad it has all become.

Anna Taylor, aged 26, has five children all under the age of five and the government gives her the equivalent of a £26,000-a-year tax-free salary plus free school meals and milk for her children. Her 48-year-old husband is the family carer so Anna has been told she must get a job. But Anna has worked out that she will be worse off if she goes out to work so she has refused. What's the point of slaving your guts out for 40 hours if you're no better off? she asked.

Isn't it a good thing we don't all adopt the same attitude? Where would the money come from to keep the Taylor family in the style to which it has become accustomed if the majority of us didn't slave our guts out each week?

I have no sympathy for people like Anna Taylor. In my book she's an irresponsible scrounger. My opinion of her sank even lower when national newspapers followed up last week's Packet story and she phoned to ask if there was any money in it for her!

But should we totally blame Mrs Taylor for quite legitimately claiming all the benefits which the government has said she is entitled to? Shouldn't our anger be directed at Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who have created a welfare system that has got ridiculously out of hand - a system that punishes hard work and enterprise and rewards people who are happy to sponge off their neighbours?

There are no doubt tens of thousands of other people like Anna Taylor, breeding like rabbits and milking the system for everything they can.

No wonder we need the Poles to fill jobs in this country - so many British people are doing too well on the dole to bother going out to work.

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Every Labour leader since Harold Wilson has promised to introduce a Freedom of Information Act but we didn't get a Bill through Parliament until 2000.

Even after the House finally agreed to half-hearted measures to abolish secrecy (the Act is packed with exemptions) the government delayed implementing the new law for five years - giving the bureaucrats ample time to shred any embarrassing documents.

Now, just two years after the Freedom of Information Act came into being, the government is doing its best to water-down those limited rights won as a result of years of campaigning.

Thankfully, an all-party group of six MPs has tabled a motion to oppose the government and 72 others (including 29 Labour, 20 Lib Dem and 18 Conservative) have pledged their support.

I am pleased to note that Cornish Liberal Democrat MPs Colin Breed (South East Cornwall) and Andrew George (Helston and St Ives) are among those who have signed the motion. But, as of last Thursday, there was no record of support from Julia Goldsworthy (Falmouth and Camborne) or Matthew Taylor (Truro).

I'm sure this is just an oversight and that Julia and Matthew will have added their names to the list before the ink is dry on this week's Packet.

What I'm not so sure about, however, is whether yet another attempt to restrict the Freedom of Information Act - this time by backbench Tory MP David MacLean - will meet as much opposition.

Mr MacLean is pushing through a measure that will exempt MPs - and stop us from seeing their expenses!