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10/09/2003
Pensioners take protest to Westminster
A mass lobby by thousands of pensioners against the continuing decline in pensioner income is planned today at Parliament Buildings.
Organised by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) the event comes just weeks before the party conference season, where the current crisis in pensions is likely to top the agendas.
The Convention is hoping to lobby up to 200 MP today in Westminster Hall, making it one of the biggest co-ordinated protests ever staged.
The NPC claims that the display of the “power of the grey vote” will be increasingly important in the run up to the next general election.
Rodney Bickerstaffe, NPC President said: “The vast majority of pensioners rely on the state pension for the bulk of their income, so if it loses its value, they end up sinking further and further into debt and poverty. Since 1980 when the link with earnings was broken, the state pension has fallen by over £30 a week and increases in the cost of living, such as council tax and utility bills, have swallowed up what little extra in the state pension there was.
“The Government says it wants to end pensioner poverty but continues to go about it the wrong way through means-testing.
"This is unpopular amongst many older people who feel they should not have to fill in forms and divulge every last detail of their personal lives in order to get a decent income, when they have already spent over 40 years making a useful contribution to society.”
The Convention also points out that Government plans to double the number of pensioners being means-tested in October through the introduction of the Pension Credit. A scheme branded by the pensioners groups as “ineffective and unpopular" that would "further undermine the future of the basic state pension”.
Pensioners this year received a £1.92-a-week rise in the basic state pension.(SP)
Organised by the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) the event comes just weeks before the party conference season, where the current crisis in pensions is likely to top the agendas.
The Convention is hoping to lobby up to 200 MP today in Westminster Hall, making it one of the biggest co-ordinated protests ever staged.
The NPC claims that the display of the “power of the grey vote” will be increasingly important in the run up to the next general election.
Rodney Bickerstaffe, NPC President said: “The vast majority of pensioners rely on the state pension for the bulk of their income, so if it loses its value, they end up sinking further and further into debt and poverty. Since 1980 when the link with earnings was broken, the state pension has fallen by over £30 a week and increases in the cost of living, such as council tax and utility bills, have swallowed up what little extra in the state pension there was.
“The Government says it wants to end pensioner poverty but continues to go about it the wrong way through means-testing.
"This is unpopular amongst many older people who feel they should not have to fill in forms and divulge every last detail of their personal lives in order to get a decent income, when they have already spent over 40 years making a useful contribution to society.”
The Convention also points out that Government plans to double the number of pensioners being means-tested in October through the introduction of the Pension Credit. A scheme branded by the pensioners groups as “ineffective and unpopular" that would "further undermine the future of the basic state pension”.
Pensioners this year received a £1.92-a-week rise in the basic state pension.(SP)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:It will be cloudy again throughout the day. Mainly dry in the morning, but patchy drizzle in places, becoming more widespread and persistent in the afternoon. Freshening southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.
