Labour unveils pensioner pledge card as party accuses Tories of ducking social care crisis
2 min read
A Labour government will “restore dignity and support” for the UK's old people, John McDonnell has claimed.
The Shadow Chancellor spoke out as the party unveiled a pledge card setting out seven policies it would introduce to improve the lives of the country's pensioners.
They include free personal social care, ensuring free TV licences for over-75s, maintaining free bus travel for old people, restoring former bus routes, investing in home insulation and the landmark promise to compensate nearly four million "WASPI" women hit by changes to the state pension age.
Mr McDonnell said that by contrast, the Conservatives had “abandoned” elderly people by failing to pledge any extra money for social care in their election manifesto.
He said: “Older people have had their pensions threatened under the Tories and nearly four million women born in the 1950s had their pensions robbed.
“The scandalous state of the care system is perhaps the biggest crisis facing our country. Labour will build a new National Care Service with free care for those who need it at the heart."
But Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: "Pensioners under Labour would feel the cost of Corbyn with their plans to raid people's pensions to pay for their spending spree on top of their plans for a four day week which would leave care homes short-staffed and cost the NHS billions.
"This is yet another undeliverable pledge from Corbyn's Labour. They are desperate to distract people from their failure to set out a position on Brexit and the chaos of the two referendums they would waste next year on."
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