Derek Blacker, of Newton Abbot, writes:
Are we to weep for Mr Younger-Ross who claims he is 'not paid' to write his column. As the sitting MP, he is awarded a free column in the local newspapers to communicate with the electors, but is he really not paid to write it?
This is an MP who, in 2008/0,9 received £64,766 in salary, a £10,520 communications allowance, £35,648 for personal expenses, £111,701 for office expenses, National Insurance contributions of £7,588 and an estimated pension cost of £24,611, in total £254,834 and who, by the time of the General Election, will have cost us around £2,000,000 since he was elected in 2001.
So do we get value for our £2m? I do not think so.
Like all MPs he deals with local issues, in his report back this year he did claim one or two successes on level crossings and post offices (but not in Newton Abbot where we now have to endure a downgraded service located in the back corner of Costcutters' grocery store.
But as far as the big picture goes, Teignbridge has poor health funding given the aging population and is third from bottom in education funding.
The situation has got steadily worse under Mr Younger-Ross with funding per child falling £20 further behind the English average each year.
Apparently, he is also responsible for 'scrutinising' European legislation which is steadily taking us over on his watch.
These issues are those which we elect MPs to change, but under Mr Younger-Ross things have gone from bad to worse.
Two million pounds is a heavy price to pay for Mr Younger-Ross's presence in our constituency, so perhaps he will appreciate that he actually gets paid very handsomely by us for writing his column which, as he admits, has been 'boring the pants off readers'.
The General Election will be a good time for us all to let him know what we think of all his 'unpaid' work on his column in the local newspapers, because we haven't got much else for our money.