Harry Tuttle from Northampton Pensioners
Voice, said: "The plight of pensioners in
Britain has become so endemic and part of
everyday life that no-one seems to be shocked
anymore that 2.5 million people still live in
poverty.
"Our campaigning will show that pensioners can
be a powerful group when they get together,
especially when it's election time.
"Our MPs should take note that if they want to
keep their jobs, they should do more for the
older generation."
The campaign group is advocating the
introduction of a pensioners' charter which
would encompass a number of basic rights for all
older people in the country.
This would include raising the basic state
pension for all men and women to at least £130 a
week, restoring the link between pensions and
earnings, introducing free social and long-term
care, outlawing age discrimination and providing
free nationwide travel
MP
should back the pensioner charter
I read the article in the Chron on November 16
regarding the scheme dreamed up by Sally Keeble
MP for Northampton North to assist needy
pensioners by proposing a Government-funded
equity release plan for their houses.
I would suggest that we pensioners in
Northampton would be better served by our MP if
she supported the National Pensioners Convention
(NPC) Pensioners Charter, which calls for an
immediate rise in the basic state pension which,
at just 17 per cent of average earnings, is the
lowest in the EU.
Allied with this, we need the restoration of the
linking of state pensions to average earnings,
which was broken by the Conservative government
under Margaret Thatcher shortly after they were
elected in 1979 and which new Labour has
steadfastly refused to restore, despite their
commitment while in opposition to do so.
We have now been promised the restoration of the
link in 2012, by which time it is estimated that
three million of today's pensioners will have
died. We cannot continue to accept the shameful
situation that in Britain, the fourth or fifth
biggest economy in the world, 2.5 million
pensioners are living below the poverty line and
many cannot afford to heat their homes
adequately.
Many pensioners die of cold-related illnesses
during the winter months.
The idea that Britain cannot afford justice for
pensioners is too preposterous for words. What
we cannot afford is perpetuation of this
injustice.
Harry Tuttle,
Press & Publicity,
Northampton Pensioners Voice.
