Gaby Hinsliff identifies the various reasons why singletons can and should exert political pressure (Will the voting power of single people turn the election?, 8 November). But, despite singletons coming on to the political radar, politicians are still wedded to the orthodoxy of the needs of the conventional hardworking family and it is easy to stick to this mantra.
Singletons are still fewer in number and are a much more diverse group, not easy to categorise into an election slogan. They range from the metropolitan well-heeled such as Emma Watson, to single parents of all classes and old single people who have never married and have fallen behind in the earnings rat race. I fall into the latter category, having endured decades of listening to politicians going on about families as if they are the only ones who vote.
The problem is how to make singletons an effective lobbying group given their huge diversity and the fact that people’s lives do change. Ms Watson’s single status may change in time, but I doubt mine will!
David Rimmer
Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire
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