IDS is clueless about living on benefits

His primary targets - benefit claimants and the transient, whether immigrant, traveller or homeless - are some of the most vulnerable people in society and he and his ilk will have absolutely no comprehension whatsoever of their particular circumstances.

I work full-time, I'm married with three young children, my wife works part-time and we rent a three-bed property from a private landlord.

Our wages alone, without the supplementary benefits, housing, child and tax credits, would nowhere near cover the rent and essentials such as clothes, food, energy and fuel.

It is incredible that Duncan Smith thinks that all those who rely on benefit would survive without it - those in part-time work who can't find full-time jobs, the Remploy workers thrown on the scrapheap, those who have joined the 2.5 million unemployed in the last couple of years thanks to the financial crises and austerity, and the long-term unemployed.

Claiming benefit is not a lifestyle. The truth is that most claimants would rather earn a decent living wage and relinquish reliance on benefit.

Taking it away would force a big chunk of the population out of their homes or put them in debt to the greedy bankers and their mates - the very ones that created this mess and continue to be bailed out.

IDS and his millionaire chums know this and want it because by demonising and kicking the poorest they create deeper divisions with those that do not claim.

Perhaps he would like to come and spend sometime with my family and I to experience how ordinary people struggle on a daily basis.

I cannot afford his luxuries. I have no second home or flat in London or chauffeur-driven car, I rarely go "out on the town" or abroad, I can barely afford to put enough petrol in the tank of our second-hand, 15-year-old car once a month to take the kids on a day out, I cannot afford private education, health care or dentistry - but I'd be happy to accommodate him if it helps him to understand the massive social divisions he and his party are creating.

Perhaps we could also discuss who pays his wages.

Andy Irving

Norwich