"Reading's the heart of the country," says David Cameron when we ask him why he's come here. "It's exactly the sort of place where people work hard, get out of bed every day, try to earn a good wage, try to do well for themselves and their families. "But they find the cost of living very tough," he told BBC Radio Berkshire's Ronnie Jones. Cameron says government taxation is making the problem worse as people try to find the money to pay utility bills on top of council tax and income tax. He says he backs Conservative local councils like Wokingham in their drive to keep council tax down - dismissing suggestions that local services are being cut instead. "Wokingham is a very well run district council - they're trying to keep council tax down as other Conservative councils are. "There's always greater efficiency you can achieve in local government and I applaud councils that are trying to do that." Pensioners 'without vital support'"No one wants to see services cut but all the evidence shows that the councils providing good levels of service, with the cleanest streets and the best rates of recycling are Conservative councils. "They charge less and tend to be more efficient, and Wokingham's one of those." But Martin Salter, Labour MP for Reading West, says the Tory leader isn't doing anything useful for the area. Focusing on Wokingham, Salter asked if Cameron could persuade the council to abandon its plans to close Ryeish Green School. The Labour MP added that plans to change social care for the elderly in Wokingham "would leave hundreds of pensioners who suffer from dementia, mobility problems and other debilitating conditions, without vital support". Do you agree with David Cameron? Is the cost of living in Reading, Newbury, Slough, Bracknell or elsewhere in Berkshire particularly steep?Have you lived anywhere else in the country, or abroad? How does the cost of living compare?What changes would improve the cost of living in the area?Have your say using the form below. | 
