What carers said to Gordon Brown

We delivered 8,500 messages to the Prime Minister from carers. Here are just a few of them:

"I am a mother and full time carer of a blind and disabled 13 year old daughter. I love my daughter very much and try to do what is best for her, but sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home because myself and my husband struggle to make ends meet, let alone afford activities outside the home."

"Carers do an enormous amount of work looking after relatives and friends, saving the country millions of pounds - it's about time that they received proper remuneration for the work they do, and more opportunities to create a life of their own. Are you the man to make real changes to the outdated system we have now."

"It seems the more carers do, the more they are 'kicked into the gutter'. No other section of the community would be expected to work 24/7, without holidays, for the abysmal pittance given to them."

"Stop tinkering at the margins of the tax system and making it ever more complicated. Focus on helping those who want to work and who want to help the most disadvantaged in society to achieve what they can, without endless bureaucracy. It may not make headlines but it might just enable you to reconnect with the moral compass you boasted of."

"The serious (sometimes almost total) reduction in quality of life for carers in a civilised, wealthy country is not acceptable. If we are to be seen as a caring society, realistic assistance (both financial and practical) must be made available through public funds."

"I would be better off financially if I murdered my wife, pleaded guilty, was imprisoned and was earning prisoner's 'pocket money wages', rather than drawing Carers Allowance. I assure you I shall not do this, but I hope you get the point."

"You have pledged to care more for carers, and the New Deal launched in February is a significant step forward. However, there is still much to be done. Please listen to what is being said by carers around the country and by what Carers UK has discovered regarding the financial impact of caring."