LETTERS – Not just about pensioners today

The NPC Annual Convention heard calls for young and older people to work together to ensure that everyone can have a decent quality of life as they age.
More than 300 delegates converged on The Imperial Hotel Blackpool (June 28-29) for our first convention since before the pandemic.
They heard from leading speakers on all issues affecting older people across the two day event. But the final panel session confirmed that uniting the generations in fighting for a better quality of retirement is vitally important.
With more than two million older people now living in poverty in the UK, the NPC has been campaigning for the generations to unite to ensure today’s and tomorrow’s older people have decent pensions and essential services.
Three generations of one family were shocked to learn from distressing testimonials on how bleak life is for the older generation at the NPC Annual Convention in Blackpool.
They realise that everything really emanates from a really poor system of government. Especially hearing about the problems in the care system.
You shouldn’t have to wait years, just working and working to get a pension, a sum of money that is not really going to give you any quality of life.
Delegates at the conference representing the NPC’s million plus members, heard experts discuss the many issues affecting older people, such as the huge crisis in health and social care, the rocketing cost of living and our inadequate and unequal state pension, as well as the decline in services such as transport and housing, and the drive towards a digital – only public and private sector.
Unite the union held a demo at the Convention on their ‘68 Is Too Late’ campaign, supported by the Scottish Pensioners Forum, to demand that the government bin plans to push the retirement age back to 68 much earlier than expected.
NPC General Secretary Jan Shortt said: “This was a very important Annual Convention given the many, many serious problems facing older people today. But we are heartened to see so many people – especially young people – encouraged after hearing our speakers, to campaign for serious change to our broken systems.
Convention speakers included Simon Francis, from End Fuel Poverty, John Lister, from Keep Our NHS Public, Lord Davies of Brixton on the state pension, and Tom Lowe from the Digital Poverty Alliance, plus leaders from national organisations including Age UK, Independent Age, Ageing Better, as well as the TUC, Unite and UNISON.
With so many delegates and supporters coming together the Convention was such a success and has re-enforced the NPC’s commitment to galvanise the generations to unite for policy change on ageing.
Rodney Sadd
Supporter of NPC
Adcocks Avenue
Crowland