ONCE again Remembrance Day has come and gone, and once again we have had to witness the hypocritical stance of our leading politicians standing at the Cenotaph crying crocodile tears for the people who have given their lives in wars since 1914.
They say quite rightly that they should never be forgotten. Yet what of the survivors of those wars? They are not forgotten, just ignored.
Pensioners in this country are among the worst paid pensioners and have the worst pensioner poverty of any country in Europe. Help the Aged has produced evidence that barely 40 per cent of the 11 million UK pensioners have sufficient income to be taxed.
The National Pensioners Convention says that if pensioners were given a universal pension, the hated means test could be done away with. All it really does is demean the elderly.
If single pensioners were given one third of average earnings and married couples given 50 per cent that would keep them above the poverty levels.
I know the response that the government will give is twofold we can't afford it and what about the rich pensioners. Neither of these answers hold water.
LES COBEN,
Press officer,
Harlow and District Pensioners Action Association, Rectory Wood,
Harlow.
November 22, 2001 8:35
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