The Lancaster District Pensioners’ Campaign Group (LDPCG) intends to lobby candidates in the Morecambe and Lunesdale and the Lancaster and Wyre constituencies to support the policies outlined in The Pensioners’ Manifesto 2015.
The Pensioner’s Manifesto was launched at the Pensioners’ Parliament in Blackpool earlier this year. It calls on parliamentary candidates in the May 2015 general election to support these policies:
- A basic state pension for all elderly people, set above the poverty level of £175 a week
- Increases in pensions to be linked to the best of RPI, CPI, earnings or 2.5%
- Universal pensioner benefits (bus pass, winter fuel allowance, free TV licences for the over-75s and free prescriptions) to be maintained without means-testing
- A National Health and Care Service which is free at the point of use and funded through taxation
- A legally binding Dignity Code to improve the quality and standards of care for older people
It states that
“Despite what some may claim, Britain’s older generation are not to blame for the economic crisis. Neither does it help when the media suggests that there is a conflict between young and old, especially when the age groups share the same concerns over affordable housing, public transport, low incomes and retirement ages.
“But growing older can be a real challenge. Britain’s state pension is among the least adequate in the developed world; some of the stories surrounding the care of older people are absolutely shocking and last winter over 30,000 pensioners died from the cold.”
You can view and download the manifesto (it’s only one page) at the National Pensioners’ Convention website at http://npcuk.org/.
Volunteers wanted!
On Saturday 13th December LPDCG will be at the rear entrance of the Arndale Centre in Morecambe and in Market Square, Lancaster from 11am until 2pm, handing out copies of the Manifesto and asking people to sign a statement calling on general election candidates to endorse and support it. They will use the signatures collected to impress on candidates the need to take notice of the concerns of older people in the two constituencies.
If you can spare some time to help on Saturday 13th (either venue), please call LPDCG and let them know (tel. 01524 61585).
Download the form and get signatures
Alternatively you can also download and print a copy of the manifesto and also a copy of the statement (it’s like a petition form) to show friends, neighbours, relatives, etc. and ask them to sign. Please get all signatures to LDPCG as soon as you can in the New Year.
To download a PDF copy of the The Pensioners Manifesto 2015 click here
To download a Word doc copy of the statement form (for collecting signatures) click here