The New Labour Government neglected pensioners on mass these past 13 years, just as the previous Tory Government had done through 18 years.
New Labour continued Tory descrimination of the elderly by continuing the means test, and New Labour also continued to marginalise pensioners by keeping the State pension linked to the inflation rate, other than re-linking the State pension directly with national average wages thereby making sure the basic State pension rose directly in accordance with British prosperity. A decent State pension is not an economic issue, it is a moral issue.
From 1997 when New Labour won a landslide victory, the pensions and earnings link was not restored, and Margaret Thatcher's means testing remained, yet before the 1997 general election of the New Labour Government, Gordon Brown at a Labour conference had promised to end the means testing of pensioners under the "next Labour Government".
There was a complete failure by Blair and Brown to stick to "traditional" Labour's core values of fairness and equality, and instead they took Labour to "the right" embracing Thatcher's free market dogma, and Blair and Brown did this because they wanted to gain power, in my view at any cost, much like Nick Clegg and his ministers have done by supporting and upholding a failed Tory Government.
Under New Labour the British never had the "fair spread of wealth" which was sacrosant to "Labour, a definate part of "traditional" Labour's core values, no, they had means tested tax credits for workers, plus means tested pensions credits for pensioners, while the top took the greatest slice of the cake as they will continue to do in the free market economy, and the rich and poor devide widened.
I do not believe that any political party should ever sacrifice what that party holds sancrosant, that of it's core principles, just to gain power, just where is the credibility ?
It was Neil Kinnock who initiated Labour moving to the right to gain the votes of middle England, many of whom had done well through the Thatcher/Major era, but I believe Neil Kinnock was wrong, because there is nothing as strong as a "principle", and Labour should have upheld their principles even if it mean't continuing being out of office, because it is then up to the British public to re-evaluate their values and principles and vote accordingly.
We spend just 5 per cent of our Gross national product ( overall wealth ) on State pensions for our elderly people, while most of our GNP goes abroad, now is that fair ?, also it's a fact that the means test system is costing substantially more of tax payers money than it would cost to restore the State pensions link with national average wages, so Mr Cathy a decent State pension increase is not about cost, it is about political dogma, remember we can fight foreign wars, illegal or otherwise and expense is never a problem, yet our politicians are forever saying that our pensioners and pensions are a problem , there is a contradiction there.
And now political right wing dogma under the coalition feels fit to increase the retirement age to 66 from 2016, under the guize that state pensions are not affordable and that pensioners are out stripping workers, yet we are told in the same breath by our politicians that people are going to have to work longer, this is not only a contradiction in terms, it also begs the question, where are the jobs coming from ?
As a non pensioner I entirely believe in a decent State pension for all of our pensioners that rises directly in line with national average wages, or inflation, whichever the higher, I do not believe that pensioners should have to endure means testing on a below the poverty line State pension, not least because when the Government's own defination of poverty is a little over £12,000 a year, but most because it's fair.
Also this coalition is a farce as far as pensioners are concerned, because by having to please Cameron's Tories, the Lib-Dems cannot now impliment their Citizens pension based on citizenship and not contributions, and they were going to restore the State pension link with national average wages straight away, if they got into Government, so if the Lib-Dems could have achieved that, why can't the coalition ?.
A lot has gone the Tory's way, but Nick Clegg and his ministers have done what Labour did, they have and are also sacrificing their principles, in my view, just to have power.
