Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Town MSP’s state pension warning for government
Airdrie’s MSP has warned the UK government against increasing the state pension age – claiming it would have “dire and disproportionate consequences” in his constituency.
The Conservative party’s proposals followed a report published by the Centre for Social Justice – chaired by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith – which concluded that the state pension age should rise to 75 over the next 16 years.
Alex Neil has responded to this news by highlighting the impact this would have on Airdrie & Shotts due to the towns’ “demographic needs”.
The MSP also called on the UK government to heed warnings raised in a new report that found the proportion of elderly people living in severe poverty in the UK is five times what it was in 1986 – the largest increase among western European countries.
Mr Neil said: “The Tor y’s government’s approach to the UK’s elderly population and state pension policy has been cruel and callous.
“From the burning injustices facing the WASPI women who have been denied the right to their state pension, to the stripping away of free TV licences for the over 75s, this government’s attitude towards its older people is shameful.
“Instead of taking on board policies written up by one of the architects of Tory austerity, the new Prime Minister must take action to address the dire levels of pensioner poverty in the UK.
“The Tory government must take a step back and tackle these injustices, rather than ramping up the threats.”